Fighting Dead
by DaLantis
Summary: Elissa is a small town Savannah born girl, but all that changes when the Green Flu comes to town. Now with survivors Nick, Rochelle, and Coach, she must try to get to safety if she ever wants a life like the one she left behind. WARNING Fem!Ellis [Ellis x Nick] I DO NOT OWN THE LEFT 4 DEAD CHARACTERS! WOW 1000 views! Thx everyone!
1. Introduction

**Hey Guys and Gals who are reading this, **

I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read my first fan fiction ever and I wanted to let you know about a few things before you begin.

This is my first fan fiction, so please review and let me know how I am doing.

None of the characters of Left 4 Dead are mine (those who are left 4 Dead fans should know who those characters are)

This is a gender bender story where Ellis is a girl, be warned. I am not into huge sex stories, so no this story isn't full of horny nonsense, but there is some sexual references and a few scenes that have forced me to rate this M just in case.

While the game characters and some places they visit are not mine, the story itself and some additional characters are. That being said, I did change some things about the story so be warned. I am the author :p I can do that

ALSO I WILL BE UPDATING THIS STORY THROUGHOUT, UNTIL I LIST IT AS COMPLETE (So please come back and read the changes) :)

Please enjoy the story and if you have any questions or comments, leave a review!

**Thank you,**

** DaLantis**


	2. Airport Memories

**Chapter One:**

Airport Memories

***NICK***

As the car pulled up to the airport that was going to take me to Savannah, Georgia where a couple of my associates were waiting for me at the river boat casino, I thought about what I was leaving behind.

Here in New York I had married who I thought was the love of my life five years ago, but I guess it wasn't meant to last seeing as how we divorced only a couple years after that.

Scowling at my own thoughts, I knew it was more like I didn't allow it to last. I couldn't blame Robin for leaving. After we had got married, we were happy for a few months, but then gambling just seemed to call my name louder than ever before. It wasn't that I wanted to gamble, but I felt I had to, it was all I knew.

Sighing I stepped out of the limo that had taken me here and grabbed my bags and started towards the private plane, paid exclusively by my boss, the CEO of several casinos throughout the world.

Robin never understood my need to gamble, to take a dare and have a thrill. She was always too scared I would lose and we would no longer have the luxuries we have grown accustomed to.

As I waited for the security man to get done checking my personal items and I couldn't help but think back to the time Robin and I had met at the airport.

**_Flashback_**

_The rain was pouring down and Nick glared at the sky, as though doing so would make the rain stop or slow down. Quickly, he rushed from the taxi that had brought him to the main lobby doors where he quickly opened them and took off inside. He always hated the rain. _

_A young woman with jet black hair of Italian descent practically knocked him down when he stopped to catch his breath. Tripping, she fell to her knees._

_"__Why the hell did you just stop right here you…" her words cut off when she noticed Nick for the first time. His black hair was greased back and his eyes were a deep green color. His face was ruggedly handsome and his tuxedo told her immediately he had money._

_"__Sorry about that I didn't see you there", she said quickly, "are you alright?"_

_Nick was at a loss for words. He had never seen such a beauty before. Her eyes were a dark brown with mascara and eye liner making them pop like never before. Her hair was beautiful with the waves that cascaded down her shoulders and back and her smile…her smile was breathtaking. _

_"__I-I'm Nicholas", he said after finally regaining speech._

_She smiled softly, "I'm Robin, nice to meet you Nicholas."_

_Nick smiled back._

**_Flashback ends_**

I grimaced at the memory. I should have known then that a pretty face didn't always mean pretty personality. She ended up being a witch, that woman. Always nagging and crying, I swear after our first six months of being married, I could have dropped her then and there, but I… he shook his head, he didn't have time to think about this now. He had a job to get to in the middle of nowhere.

"God, what could possibly happen that's exciting in Georgia of all places", I mumbled aloud.

Little did I know Georgia would be the place where everything I thought I knew, would change for good.


	3. Small Town Savannah

**Chapter Two:**

Small Town Savannah

***Elissa***

I heard the constant beeping of my alarm going off and couldn't help but wish I had a few more minutes to sleep. Oh well, I thought as I stood up and hit the "alarm off" button. I grabbed my yellow bull shifters V-neck shirt I had gotten at a crocodile fest with Keith a few years back and slipped it on. Then grabbing my usual get up consisting of my coveralls and work boots, I quickly slipped them on and took off downstairs where I could smell heavenly things making its way to my nostrils.

"Mama!" I yelled bounding off the bottom step and grabbing her around the shoulders, kissing her cheek.

She laughed at my enthusiasm and pushed me away playfully.

"Sit down Ellie and eat some pancakes, I went through hard work making these", she said with a large smile. I nodded and quickly dug into the food. Grabbing five pancakes and three eggs along with six pieces of bacon and a couple sausage links all covered in syrup, I made my way to the table grabbing a large glass of chocolate milk along the way.

"Ellie!" yelled a voice. I immediately recognized it to be my boyfriend and best friend, Keith.

"Keith" I hollered back.

Keith came strutting in, his blue and white baseball cap that he always wore on top of his head, a large smile on his face under two large light colored brown eyes. Like me, he had his bull shifters t-shirt on, although his was green. His coveralls were completely pulled up and buckled at his shoulders whereas mine I kept tied around my waist until work at least.

"Something smells awfully fine", he said smiling.

My mom looked up and shook her head in amusement.

"Grab some food Keith and then go sit at the table with Elissa, I will be there in a moment."

Keith didn't hesitate to dig in, grabbing six pancakes and a couple eggs with a few pieces of bacon and sausage. He grabbed a glass of white milk and made his way over to me, that silly large grin I had fallen in love with so long ago plastered on his face.

"Holy Cow", he said looking at my plate, "how can a girl eat so much", he commented in shock.

I just laughed, he knew me well enough by now to know I ate a lot, but he always seemed to have to comment about it and make me laugh.

"Same way you can eat a lot", I said with a mouthful of food, "I have a fast metabolism."

"Yeah you…" he was cut off by the sound of a crash outside.

Startled, we both jumped up and rushed to the window. Looking outside we noticed a car had hit a fence.

"We should go see if they are hurt", I said starting towards the door.

"Wait Ellie", he said grabbing my arm, "I'll go check. You can never be too careful."

Annoyed by his over protectiveness but still glad for it all the same, he shot out the door towards the car where the driver was laying against the steering wheel.

My mama came up beside me watching as well, though she didn't say anything. Anybody seeing the crash could tell he probably was dead.

I watched as Keith reached in to check on the man's pulse when all at once I saw Keith jerk away and yell. Horrified at the thought of something happening to him, I rushed out the door towards him. Keith's eyes were large as he fell to the ground away from the car and scooted back on his butt, the whole time keeping a hold of his arm.

"Keith!" I yelled running to him and dropping beside him in the grass.

"That fella is sick", he said, "I thought maybe he had a heart attack but when I approached him the guy snapped awake and bit me", he said looking at his arm.

I followed his gaze to the bite mark and grimaced. It was red and puffy around the entrance.

"I'll go get the first aid", said my mama as she rushed inside.

"Is the fella dead?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think he was still barely alive when I got to him but he is dead now, no doubt. I think it's that new green flu I heard about. I heard them say it can be pretty quick acting, probably why this guy was driving with it."

"They said it was contagious to", I commented looking at the bite wound.

He glanced up at me and shook his head with a smug laugh.

"I don't ever get sick Ellie, I am sure I won't get sick because of this neither."

I hoped to the heavens he was right.

My mama came out again, a first aid kit in her hands and quickly put anti-bacterial gel on it and then wrapped it in a bandage. Keith thanked her as we all looked down the road, we could hear sirens coming closer.

As several police cars, an ambulance, and some black vans pulled up, Keith pulled me against him as we watched them deal with the body.

A woman in a black suit and white dress shirt came over to us.

"You found the body?" she asked.

"Yeah", answered Keith, "We heard the crash and I went out to see if I could help him."

The woman nodded and noticed the bandage on Keith's arm.

"He didn't bite or scratch you did he?" she asked.

I expected Keith to tell her the truth about the bite, but when he hesitated I saw some real fear come into his eyes. Shaking his head he quickly made up a story.

"Nah, when I got to him he was dead. I got this here injury from a truck I was working on at my garage. Right Elissa?" he asked me.

I just nodded, holding my tongue as I wanted to ask him why he was lying to her.

The woman seemed relieved at his answer and started to go back to the crash site, however something must have made her come to an idea because she stopped and turned back to us.

"If he did bite you", she said, carefully picking her words, "Don't hesitate to come either to the police department or the hospital for help. This green flu…it isn't worth playing around with."

She then turned without another thought and headed towards the crash site again.

We waited until all of the vehicles were gone before heading inside. Keith stayed silent and I didn't force him to talk to me, not yet anyways.

When we did get inside and sat down, I just stared at him, knowing he would tell me soon. He never could handle my eyes for very long.

Sure enough, he glanced at me and sighed.

"I don't know why I didn't tell her", he said in a quiet voice, "Just nervous I guess."

I nodded.

"It's okay, like you said, you have never been sick before. I am sure you won't now."

He smiled and pulled me to him and kissed my head.

"Thanks Ellie girl", he said with a smile.

I smiled back, but the fear began to grow and I worried that what he said would be the jinx that caused it to not come true.


	4. Green Flu pt 1

**Chapter Three:**

Green Flu part one

***Nick***

I pulled up to the Casino dock and parked the mustang I had rented from the nearest car lot. Adjusting my white suit and blue button down shirt I wore underneath, I slicked back my hair a couple times and checked my face in the mirror. Image was everything in poker and I wanted to make sure mine would be perfect. Grabbing my suitcase that contained my money, I handcuffed it to my wrist and made my way inside, being careful not to scratch or mark my new white leather shoes. With sunglasses safely tucked in my pocket, I was greeted by a worker who upon looking at my invite quickly ushered me past the main lobby and to a back room where several gentlemen and ladies were sitting around talking and drinking.

"Ah Nick", greeted my boss Mr. Isaac Porter, "pleasure of you to join us this fine morning."

"Pleasure is all mine Mr. Porter", I said with a small smile as I looked around the room.

"Gentlemen, this is Mr. Nicholas Dean, a friend of mine", he said with a fake, friendly smile to his guests.

None of these men in this room knew that he had hired me, a professional gambler to be his secret partner and rob them blind. Smirking at the thought, I went around and began to talk to some of the men, trying to find their weakness if they had one.

Mr. Anthony, a tall and well-built man, was here with his wife, Clarice, a beautiful woman who I quickly took an interest in. She wore a sleek black dress that clearly showed her curves and gorgeous upper structure. Her hair was a large bushel of blonde curls with dark green eyes peering out from under them. Mr. Anthony clearly thought her a trophy wife trying to prove something to the other men in the room.

Mr. Langley, a small man with glasses and a sharp moustache beneath his nose seemed rather nervous and I learned from my boss that this was his first private poker match. Perfect, I thought to myself, he would be the first target to go down.

Mr. Kensington was a man a lot like my boss. He was cocky without being rude and he was all business without being cold towards other people. With him were his girlfriend Veronica and his daughter Diane. Diane was only a teenager or else I would have considered her a good target but at 16, I wasn't about to do something like that. Veronica on the other hand, I wasn't sure what he saw in her. She wasn't anything special by my standards. I didn't think she was very pretty and she wore a plain white and brown dress with dark brown curls sweeping her shoulders. Her eyes were an odd shade of gray and green but they seemed to match her pretty well. She wore brown cowboy boots with the dress which matched her boyfriend's white and black western suit and white cowboy hat.

Catching my eye, Mr. Kensington headed towards me with Veronica and Diane at his side.

"Mr. Dean right?" he asked.

I nodded.

"First time?" he asked.

"Here yes," I replied, "but I have done other private matches elsewhere."

"You any good?" he asked, though I had a notion he already knew about my talents.

"Yeah pretty good", I decided to say truthfully.

He nodded and seemed happy I had told him the truth. I noticed Veronica and Diane walk away to get some food from the bar and so as I was curious about his girlfriend, I couldn't help asking a few questions.

"So, Veronica seems nice."

He nodded and gave me a look that clearly said 'don't be getting comfortable around her.'

I held up my hands in surrender and he laughed.

"Yeah, she's a sweetheart alright."

I didn't say anything to that but kept glancing at the two girls every once in a while.

Watching me, he seemed to come to a conclusion about something on his mind and began to speak to me about it.

"You ever been married Nick?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I take it you are divorced now?"

I nodded again with a hint of a grimace.

He was silent for a moment and then patted my shoulder, which surprised me.

"Don't worry yourself about that woman son. I was married to Margaret, my first wife for several years and had Diane with her. She died when Diane was six and then I married Helen. Helen was a good ole girl but she and I just didn't see eye to eye."

He sounded depressed and I was wondering why in the world he was talking to me about this anyways. Honestly I didn't want to hear his whole life story, but I kept my mouth closed, knowing I didn't want to make the man angry when we were about to have a serious poker tournament.

"Then when I divorced Helen, I met Veronica and let me tell you kid, you don't know love until one moment you're seeing the world as you always have and the next your seeing everything with another person constantly in your sight, as though she is the only one that matters. When you meet someone like that, someone who is your entire world, you have found true love my boy."

I didn't say anything but I thought about my ex-wife, Robin. I loved her, but would I say she was my entire world? My life? No, I thought to myself, if anything I thought of her as an addition in my life, nothing more.

As if reading my thoughts, the man laughed a loud laugh that attracted some eyes our way but then in silent words, he said, "she will take you by surprise, trust me kid. I bet she is out there right now, waiting for you."

I snickered at the words, but then I wondered if it could be true. Was there someone out there waiting for me? I doubted it.

My thoughts were interrupted when my boss announced the match was about to start. Clearing my head of anything but winning, I pushed the nagging feeling I had about his words to the back of my mind to think about at another time.

***Elissa***

After what had happened with the car earlier, I kept a close eye on Keith but he didn't act like his arm was bothering him at all, so I decided he had been right about it and dropped the topic from my mind. Still, I couldn't help but feel something was off about him.

Shaking my head to clear such thoughts further from the forefront of my brain, I watched as Keith and Dave played around in the water hose. Our boss, Vin, had given them the job of cleaning a couple cars that were being worked on under the hood. I was actually one of the top mechanics so while I worked on the third car we had in our shop, Dave and Keith who had been complaining of boredom were given car washing instructions. I had to laugh though; Vin didn't seem to realize the weapon of play he had just given them.

Keith was scrubbing down the cars with a sponge and soap when Dave was using the hose to wash the soap away. However thinking to be funny, Dave lifted it and sprayed Keith in the shirt. Surprised, Keith stood up and stared down at his wet shirt and then got an evil smirk on his face. I laughed as I saw Dave's face. Dave turned pale and began to back up as Keith grabbed the soap bucket and began chasing him around the cars.

"Keith, now hang on buddy, you don't wanna do this none", yelled Dave.

"Oh", said Keith with an evil smile, "But I do David."

David, horrified, ran away screaming.

Becky, Dave's girlfriend who had come to eat lunch with him had been standing beside me chatting away until she saw the scene and burst out laughing. I laughed with her till we were practically rolling on the ground as Dave tried without success to dodge Keith who was determined to get him back. Taking a running jump off the hood of the car, Keith dove at Dave and dumped the entire bucket of soapy water on him, literally soaking both himself and Dave in the process.

They landed with a hard bang across the concrete and worried they were hurt I started towards them with Becky at my side only to stop when I heard Keith and Dave heehawing with laughter. We joined in and then an evil thought crossed my mind. Smirking, I went over and grabbed the hose that had the jet mouth and put it behind my back as I made my way towards them.

"You boys look awfully messy", I said with a laugh, "how about I clean you up?"

Both boys paused as though not understanding and then all at once both opened their eyes comically in unison as I blasted them with water from the hose.

"No Ellie!" yelled Dave as he startled backwards but tripped over Keith who was also trying to scramble out of the way.

Keith coughed and laughed as I sprayed him and finally he yelled out, "I give up".

Laughing, I could barely control the hose as I pointed it at them.

Shaking his now completely soaked head, Keith hopped up and tackled me, picking me up into his arms and swinging me around.

I hooted and laughed, Keith's laughter joining mine. I didn't think this moment could be ruined, but of course, this story wouldn't end like it does if it stopped here and now.

Keith became extremely light headed all at once and his grip on my legs slipped. I hit the concrete hard, slicing my arm in the process and drawing blood as I looked up shocked he had dropped me.

Dave and Becky who had been laughing at us stopped in confusion as they saw me hit the ground and Keith, Keith had grabbed his head and kneeled down, his eyes clenched.

"Keith?" I asked quickly getting up, ignoring the sting in my arm. "Keith?"

He glanced at me. His face was pale and sweat covered.

"Dizzy all at once", he said.

I nodded and put my hands on his back rubbing his muscles trying to make the pain go away. I thought back to what the woman said about going to hospital right away if they needed help. I made up my mind, not wanting to take a chance that it was as serious as she said.

"Keith we are going to the hospital."

He looked up at me, worried. He knew what I was thinking and I could tell it scared him, but he didn't argue and instead he nodded and started to get up. His knees shook and he looked really weak.

Worried about the idea of Keith driving, Dave said he would drive and quickly we put Keith into the back seat with me where he could lean on my shoulder. Becky got in the passenger's seat as we rushed to the hospital, our laughs and work forgotten for the moment.

When we arrived at the hospital, I was amazed at how many people were there. Cars were everywhere and people were rushing back and forth from the hospital, most of them had extremely worried looks in their eyes. I traded glances with Dave from the rear view mirror. We both knew it probably was about the green flu and after telling Dave about the injury Keith had sustained, I was really scared that Keith had it to.

Upon entering the main lobby, we went to the front desk where a woman was swarmed with people wanting news about their loved ones or demanding room numbers.

I bulldozed through the people up to the front desk.

A police officer noticed me and started towards us but I quickly went up to the desk.

"Please", I said, "he is not breathing well and is dizzy."

The woman saw this was true as Keith looked darn near ready to pass out any second. She also noticed my bleeding arm that I had forgotten about and quickly gave us a number and told us to sit down in the lobby until our number was called.

I nodded and took Keith over to a large couch that had just opened up and sat him down. I brushed his sweaty hair out of his face but it didn't give him or me much comfort. His skin was almost gray in color and his eyes were glassed over. I prayed to anyone listening, begging them, that he would be fine.


	5. Green Flu pt 2

**Chapter Four:**

Green Flu Part Two

***NICK***

The poker match had been going on for some time now and I had finally taken down Mr. Langley. He was sweating like crazy and tried to one up everyone by calling something he didn't have and make the rest of us fold, but I knew my hand and it was good. I called and he panicked. As we set down our cards I saw him give the look of defeat upon seeing my cards and I felt a laugh make its way out of me at the mans loss. He didn't look at anyone as he made his way out of the room. I raked in my winnings and the game continued.

I can't say how long we continued to go in circles with winning and losing. None of us were getting anywhere close to being out and yet we weren't doing all that well. I was honestly surprised that I wasn't' winning yet, but I didn't let this bother me. In fact, I hardly even noticed anything as I sat carefully watching the moves and faces of the men making the moves. I was so far in thought that I didn't even notice the door opening slowly across from me behind my boss or the fact that when it opened, there was no sound out in the lobby except crying. No one noticed the gray skinned bleeding figure that walked into the room until all at once it screamed and grabbed Clarice, Mr. Anthony's wife and took a bite out of her neck.

Horrified, we all stood up and watched the scene play out, stunned into not moving. When Clarice finally closed her eyes, obviously dead and the creature dropped her to the ground, only then did we all draw our hand guns that we all kept on our person in case someone tried to rob our winnings.

The creature that had once obviously been a man gazed at us with white eyes, nothing in them but blood splattered on its face from the kill it just made. It started towards us and we all open fire on it. Mr. Anthony didn't make a move as it died except to stare down at his wife.

We all remained mostly like statues, unsure as to how to react to what just occurred. We only moved when we heard crying coming closer.

Raising our pistols, we watched as a weeping woman, wearing torn clothes stumbled into the room. Mr. Knoxby, a security guard who had been in the room with us, went towards her thinking she was an injured victim in need of help. I didn't think she was, but I didn't know for sure so I didn't say anything. After all, what else could she be? I wondered to myself, but I had a bad feeling in my gut.

Mr. Knoxby stretched out his hand towards her trying to move slowly not to startle her, but as soon as he touched her, she screamed and before we even knew what was happening, she was inches deep into his body, blood splattering across the walls and across the people in the room.

The women screamed and the men hollered. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us and I didn't even notice I had left my briefcase behind.

The lobby was empty except for the blood and corpses lying on the ground. How we didn't hear anything going on in here I would never be able to explain, but I didn't take time to think about it as I jumped into my mustang and took off down the road. Those gray skinned things were everywhere. They walked along the roads and I had to dodge them as I made my way towards the city. Just what the hell is going on, I wondered as I continued to drive without slowing down.

***Elissa***

I paced the hall outside the observation room where the doctors had rushed Keith into. Upon seeing him, they hadn't said a word and just strapped him down to a table and rushed him away. I was worried, I had never seen him so weak and it scared me.

"Ellie?" asked a voice.

I looked up to see Emily, Keith's little sister standing there with Jenna, my childhood best friend.

"Emily, Jenna", I said crying as they pulled me into a hug.

"What's wrong with Keith?" asked Emily.

Sniffing and trying to get my emotions back under control, I shook my head.

"I don't known Emily", I said glancing back at the door.

Dave and Becky sat in the waiting room and looked up when I entered with Jenna and Emily.

"Hey Emily", he said and Emily rushed over and hugged Dave who was like another older brother to her.

Dave held the girl as she cried and Jenna rubbed my arm until she noticed the bandage I was wearing.

"What happened?" she asked worried.

"Nothing, was playing around with Keith and he accidently dropped me when all of this started", I said indicating the hospital we were in.

She nodded and didn't ask for anything further, which I was glad for. She always seemed to understand my thoughts about something without me needing to go into detail.

We waited for what had to be hours when finally a doctor stepped into the room.

"Family of Keith Austin?" he asked.

"Yes that's us", I replied.

"I think you should sit down."

We did as he asked, all of us scared by the tone of voice he was using.

"Have you heard anything about the green flu?"

We shook our heads, we really hadn't heard much.

He nodded and sighed.

"It's something going around right now that makes the body…deteriorate and the persons mind becomes almost animal like in nature. Some people they mutate even further into something else entirely, but some are immune to it which has us trying to come up with an anti-virus. However we have had no luck with creating one."

"Doctor", I said, "I don't mean to sound rude, but please, tell us about Keith."

The doctor hesitated but then sighed and dropped his hands looking extremely tired.

"I hate to tell you this, but there is nothing we can do for him. He has contracted the green flu through what we found to be a bite on his arm. Any idea how he got that?" he asked curiously.

I nodded and told him about the crash. The doctor grimaced and shook his head.

"It's horrible", he said sadly, "but it has been happening more and more."

"Doctor, can we see him?"

The doctor looked worried at first but seeing our determined faces I think he realized we would argue with him until we could.

"Only for a few minutes", he said in a serious tone, "his mind is pretty much gone and his skin…well you will see for yourselves. I only want two of you in there at a time though and not for very long. I am sorry, but this is the time for goodbyes."

Horrified, I held Emily as she and I cried.


	6. The Hospital

**Chapter Five:**

The Hospital

***Nick* **

Noticing my hands shaking as I drove, I decided I should probably head towards the hospital to get a checkout. I didn't know if those things had carried anything and I didn't want to take the chance of catching whatever it was that made them insane.

Pulling into the parking lot of the nearest hospital which I noted was called "Hope Hospital" I had to snicker at the name as I made my way inside. I bet there were a lot of people here that needed hope as they lay dying.

Shaking my head, I made my way towards the nurses' station. The woman sitting there looked tired and I couldn't blame her. The phone was ringing off the hook and the entire lobby was full of people no doubt coming because of that green flu he had heard mention of, whatever that was. I grimaced thinking maybe that was what those people had that had attacked them at the casino.

"Excuse me", I cleared my throat trying to get her attention.

"If you are here for information, please, see the information desk at the end of the hall", she replied in a tired voice.

"No see, I came for a medical check-up"

She looked up and paused, her pencil that she had been swinging just a moment ago between her fingers even froze. Smiling, she brushed off her uniform and smoothed back her hair, a lovely smiling coming onto her face as she batted her eye lashes at me.

I smirked.

"I could give you a check-up", she said in a shy tone.

I smiled. "Oh I bet you could Nurse…" I glanced at her tag, "Nurse Vicky, but I really should see a doctor", I said with a pout, trying to make her think I was sad about this idea.

She pouted to but nodded, "Any particular reason?"

"I was attacked by a crazy person a few minutes ago and I haven't been feeling well since."

The smile vanished from her face and she seemed distressed about what I said. Quickly she called a doctor on the hospital line and a few moments later, a doctor in a white coat came towards me and asked, "Are you the patient who said he got attack by an insane person?"

I nodded hesitantly.

"Did you get bit?" he asked.

I shook my head and he seemed relieved at that.

"Please come with me, we will get you checked over just in case."

I followed him up the stairs and passed a waiting room where I noticed a doctor talking to a group of young people who were crying. I didn't pay much attention to them as I passed and continued behind the doctor to an observation room.

The first room had a police officer standing outside of it and I wondered if a criminal was in there. Curious but not overly so, I went into the second room and took a seat on the table. The doctor left me alone saying a nurse should be in shortly. I nodded and waited for the nurse who would give the yay or nay that I was of perfect health.

***Elissa***

The doctor said that only two people at a time could go inside. Wanting the most time with him, it was decided that Emily and I would go in last. Jenna decided to take off and go home for the night; she didn't know Keith as well as I did, so she said she didn't want to go inside. I said goodbye to her and then turned my attention back to the room.

Dave and Becky started towards door. I glanced at the doctor who was watching, he seemed nervous.

When Dave and Becky entered, I heard words being said and crying being had. The police officer kept the door cracked open so he could see inside in case of danger, but otherwise we didn't hear or see anything that would give away his condition. Pacing in the hallway awaiting my own turn with my boyfriend, I noticed the second observation room door was closed. I remembered it was open before and wondered if another patient like Keith had been taken in. I hoped not, if just for the sake of their family.

When Dave and Becky came out, I paled at their faces. Dave looked…I don't even know how to describe it. He looked horrible. His eyes were blank looking and his body shook from head to toe. Becky also had that look, but she was trying to keep Dave walking.

As I stepped past them to see my boyfriend, Dave grabbed my arm.

"It's…bad Ellie", he said after a moment, "be strong."

I didn't say anything as I watched them sit down and hang their heads in their hands, obviously distressed at whatever they had seen or had been said.

Emily and I exchanged looks as we started towards the door. The officer opened it for us and I thanked him as we stepped inside.

The curtain was drawn around the bed and so we slowly and quietly made our way to it. Pulling it back, we saw our first glance at Keith that we have had in the past four hours since coming to the hospital and admitting him. His skin was a deep gray color and open wounds had popped up all over his body. His face was drawn and sweaty. His eyes were bloodshot looking and almost completely white. His lovely brown eyes that had always drawn my attention were hardly present and I almost couldn't tell that he was awake and staring at me.

"Keith", I started forward.

Emily behind me gasped upon seeing her brother and began to cry, but I couldn't turn away from him. His face I could tell was drawn from pain and horror, no doubt at what was going on with his own body. According to the doctor his mind was still there, but he would lose it very soon.

Keith, he didn't even look like himself as he laid there. His entire body was held down by restraints and his every breath seemed like it would be his last. Emily couldn't handle it and was able to sob out "I love you big brother", before running out of the room. I could hear her in the hall and it tore at my heart.

Looking back at Keith, I noticed tears running down his cheeks. Slowly taking my finger and brushing them away, I caressed his cheek with the back of my hand. I didn't realize I had started crying myself, until the tears landed on his blanket that was covering him. He watched the tears fall and I could tell he wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush mine away as well, but I knew he couldn't.

Wiping my own tears, I tried hard not to start sobbing to the point I couldn't talk. There were so many things I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, how much even now he was my best friend and how I wanted him to know how much his laughter meant to me. Finally I couldn't handle it anymore and I did start sobbing and I grabbed ahold of the rail trying to keep myself up and to show a strength for him that I knew he couldn't have for himself. It was so hard though…so hard.

A muttering sound came from his lips which were cracked and colorless. I strained to hear what he was saying.

"I … Love … You"

"I love you to", I said, my voice coming out as a squeak as tears threatened to spill and break my voice. "I love you so much Keith!" I grabbed his hand and started caressing it, trying to show my love for him through actions as it seemed my voice wouldn't hold out under the pain of trying not to cry.

More tears slipped down his cheeks.

I noticed he was trying to move his right hand. Glancing back at the door, I hesitantly removed his restraints.

He stretched his hand towards the closet door and following which way his finger pointed, I opened it to find his clothes and personal items inside.

"H…Hat", he got out.

I nodded and quickly found his beloved hat and brought it over to him. He tried to shake his head but grimaced as he instead pushed it towards me.

"Y-you", he said.

I nodded and clutched the hat to me.

"I-I …L-love…. Y-you…E-El"

His eyes went closed and his breathing stopped. I don't remember what else happened in that room the rest of the night, only dropping to the floor and balling my eyes out, wanting nothing more than to wake up from a terrible dream.

***Nick***

From in the next room I could hear some sort of a commotion. Sliding off the table, I leaned against the wall and heard weeping.

Memory of that crying girl at the casino filtered through my mind and I jumped back from the door as though it burned me. Hesitantly, I put my hand on the knob of the door and slowly pushed it open.

I noticed a figure crouched on the ground, her light wavy brown hair was pulled back in a sloppy pony tail and her entire figure shook with the tears that no doubt were falling down her cheeks. I backed up, trying not to show how I had intruded. I didn't want to be the reason a woman didn't get to grieve properly for a loved one.

I was just about to close the door again when I noticed a different sound; a shuffle of some sort coming closer. Turning behind me, I nearly screamed when I noticed the doctor from earlier standing there. It wasn't that he had startled me, it was the fact that he stood there covered in blood with skin as gray as charcoal. His eyes were a white blank and he didn't say anything as he started towards me.

Backing up I didn't realize I had receded right into the room I had been trying to stay out of. I didn't notice, until the security guard rushed in and spotted me. He pointed his gun and I put my hands up and pointed towards the doctor limping my way. His eyes got large and he began to shoot at the figure. I watched as finally, the doctor fell in a puddle of his own blood.

Sighing in relief, I turned only to find myself face to face with a very angry young woman. This young woman didn't seem to notice why I had intruded, only that I had in fact intruded on her private grief.

I backed up again at her anger but noticed a figure getting up behind her from the bed. The curtain parted as another one of those mindless freaks made his way towards us. I tried to say something but the woman wasn't seeing my fear or warning in my eyes. Instead I rushed out of the room, afraid to stay in this crazy place any longer.

***Elissa***

The man bolted from the room in a hurry and I noticed the guard was gone to. Sighing, I turned back to the body of Keith only to find it gone.

"Keith!" I yelled looking around. I stumbled back into someone.

"Sorry, I am looking for my boyfriend; he was lying here and…" I stopped when my eyes widened and I saw who it was I had stumbled into.

"K-Keith", I muttered, but even I could tell this was no longer my boyfriend. It was a monster.

It stretched its hand towards me and while it had the face of my lover, I knew it didn't have his mind. I backed up from him and yelled for help through the hallway.

Dave, Becky, and Emily came running out of the waiting room. They gave me a confused look until Keith followed me out of the room as I backed up. The others seemed in shock but quickly they took off towards the stair case. We had to get out of here.

Not looking back, knowing it wasn't Keith I was running from, we took off down the stairs and past startled people. Not moments later we heard screaming from inside the lobby but we didn't waste time with sticking around to see what happened. We jumped in the truck and took off.


	7. CEDA

**Chapter six:**

CEDA

***Elissa***

As Dave drove the truck, his hands were white as he gripped the steering wheel. No one said a word. Emily was sobbing into my arms as I rubbed her back trying to give her what little comfort I had left.

"D-Dave", I finally got out, "take me home, please."

I felt the need to be with my mother and he nodded as he started towards my house. Emily and Keith had lived alone in their own apartment since their parents died a few years ago in a car accident. Now all alone I knew Emily had to be scared.

"Emily sweetie", I said gently.

The scared young girl looked up at me and I saw Keith in her eyes. I almost couldn't handle the onslaught of emotions that ran through me, but I didn't get choked up for her sake and starting running my hand through her hair. It was only then I noticed I still held Keith's ball cap in the hand I had around her waist. I clutched it as I spoke.

"You can come home with me Emily alright, until we figure out how to get you to your family."

She nodded and leaned against me. I rested my chin against her head and ran my finger over Keith's hat, thinking about all the times I had seen him wear it.

When we arrived at my house it was a little after nine at night and my mother greeted us in the doorway. She had heard about Keith from Jenna who had called her and she welcomed me and Emily with large hugs. Tears spilled from her eyes, but Emily and I did our best to ignore them, trying not to give into our own deep grief.

Mother took Emily to the spare bedroom where some of my old clothes were at and got her cleaned up and ready for bed. I went to my room and collapsed on the bed and clutched his hat to me. When I finally really looked at it, I noticed a small amount of blood on it from when he had pushed it to me. I couldn't handle my own emotions anymore and cried. I let it all come out. I knew I shouldn't be so loud with Emily in the next room but the memory of Keith having turned into one of those creatures we had heard tale about made me unable to contain myself and I collapsed to the floor and just cried.

***Nick***

I ran out of the hospital as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn't know where I was going to go or even what I was going to do now, but I just ran. I didn't look back although I felt a little guilty about leaving that grieving woman behind without any warning. Still, she wasn't my responsibility and who was I that I cared if she lived or died?

I got to my mustang and locked the doors. I rushed out of the parking lot and down the road. I probably would have drove on forever without knowing where I was going if it hadn't been for a road block.

Stopping the car, some men with masks and hazmat suits came to the window.

"Have you been scratched or bitten recently by people who have turned what you might consider insane or not their normal selves?"

I shook my head.

"I went to the hospital and they were there, but no I was never scratched or bitten."

"Good ", the man said, "The green flu has become epidemic and is slowly taking over Georgia as we speak. We are getting people out of here as quick as we can, trying to isolate this disease. I suggest you head to the Savannah Hotel, we have helicopters lifting people off the roof and taking them to safe zones."

"Yes sir", I said eagerly, happy to hear I could get away from all this bull crap taking place.

He waved me through the road block and I used my GPS to help me make my way towards the hotel.

Finally, I thought to myself, something was going my way.

***Elissa***

It was the middle of the night when a siren woke me up. Startled I realized I had fallen asleep on the floor of my bedroom, Keith's hat still clutched against me. Concerned about what the siren was for, I started downstairs to the living room and flipped on the TV.

A dark skinned young woman was on there, she was dressed in a pink shirt. I tried to read what it said, but the words were too fuzzy to make out. A brown and gold belt was around her waist and she wore a pair of tight blue jeans and brown boots. Her black hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she looked rather nervous. I turned up the volume to hear her words.

"Hi everybody, coming live from downtown Savannah, Georgia; I'm Rochelle Lane from news channel 14. In the last hour, CEDA has issued a direct order that every person in Georgia who is able to, needs to make their way to one of the listed safe zone evacuation points. CEDA has set up helicopters to take survivors of the Green flu to different CEDA safe zone location outposts. If you live in Savannah Georgia, please make your way to Savannah Hotel down town where helicopters will be airlifting people out for the next several hours. I repeat again, this is not a drill and this is not a joke. A real CEDA deemed outbreak has occurred and this could be lethal. Please, make your way to the Hotel. Don't waste time packing all your things; take what you need and leave now. If you do not live in Savannah, please turn the channel to 15 for…"

She continued on, but I was past listening. I knew I needed to get my mama and Emily out of here right now. I was fearful that what happened to Keith could happen to them and I knew I shouldn't waste time with the idea of waking them or not.

I burst into Emily's room and shook her awake.

"Ellie?" she asked confused.

"Get up Emily, we have to leave now."

"Where are we going?" she asked as she yawned.

"The green flu, the thing that took Keith…" I hesitated. Should I even tell her?

I realized I had to; she deserved to know the truth and not be treated as a child.

"It's spreading and we are in the middle of it. We have to leave now. Hurry and get dressed."

She quickly nodded; her eyes wide as she jumped up and got ready.

Turning to the next room, I knocked on the door. I didn't hear anything at first so I decided to just go inside and wake her up like I did Emily. I stopped however when I heard a gurgling noise.

Flipping on the light, I jerked back when I saw my mother dressed in her night dress, her skin gray and bloodied like Keith's had been. Her eyes were white and blank and she didn't move or breathe.

I didn't dare move closer to her, I had seen what happened to Keith and I backed away, my stomach turning at the sight. I wanted to puke and cry but I had Emily to think about it. I closed the door and turned around to find Emily standing there, watching me.

"Where is your mama?" she asked me.

A few tears slipped down my cheek as a kneeled in front of her. I just shook my head; I couldn't find the words to explain to her that my mama had died like Keith had died. She seemed to understand though and hugged me. I hugged her back.

I heard a noise like a bed creaking from my mama's room and knew we had to move. I didn't want her to see my mama the way Keith had been.

I yanked her down the stairs and out the back door; I didn't even worry about locking it up. I was about half way down the road when I realized I had forgotten something we might need. Putting her in the corner between two houses, I told her I would be right back and left her there, running back to the house.

I knew doing this could make me face my mama attacking me, but I had to get what I had left behind. I inched my way in, carefully scrutinizing everything, looking for her in case she had gotten out of the bedroom. I didn't see her, so I quickly made my way past her bedroom and into my own. I grabbed the long lock box under my bed and pulled it out. Inside was my pa's old hunting rifle with a few boxes of ammo. Beside the lock box I found an old med kit. Grabbing both, I quickly put them on. I started to walk out when I remembered Keith's hat. Turning back around, I grabbed it off the bed and put it on. I turned around to head out only to find my mama right in front of me.

Startled, I wheeled back. She noticed my sharp movement and screeched as she shot out at me. I pulled back the butt of the rifle and smacked her across the face. She fell back to the floor and didn't move.

I stood there and stared down at her, frozen in horror. I had killed my own mother.

Tears were spilling down, but I knew I couldn't wait here. Emily was waiting outside for me and the last thing I wanted was anything to happen to her. She was all I had left of Keith. Actually, she was all I had left for family, period.

Rushing outside, I ran to the corner I had left her in and was relieved to find her still hunkered down. Pulling her up, we took off down the street and didn't look back.


	8. The Long Wait

**Chapter Seven:**

The Waiting Line

***Nick***

Day was quickly dawning as I found myself stuck in back to back traffic on the way to the hotel. The siren that had started a few hours ago was still sounding and I was annoyed at how unmoving all the cars were.

Deciding I would get there faster if I walked, I got out of my car and with a final regretful look back at the beautiful mustang, I started on my way.

Others saw what I was doing and followed suit. They began to get out of their cars and walk towards the hotel. I couldn't have been more than a few miles away but there were people everywhere, as far as the eye could see.

I knew then that I wouldn't be getting up to the roof of that hotel anytime soon and primed myself for a fight. I would push past these people and get out of this hell hole even if I had to crawl, kick, and scratch my way through.

***Elissa***

We were a few miles out from the hotel, but there were people everywhere. Vans were parked along the sides of the road. People with masks and hazmat suits were talking to those waiting to get to the hotel and I kept a tight hold on Emily the entire time. I was afraid to let her out of my sight and run the risk of possibly losing her.

Children and adults were all around me. A lot of the kids were crying and I knew how they felt, scared and alone. I glanced at Emily whose face was pale and tired. She had barely slept and I knew she had to be emotionally drained.

We had just taken another step forward in the line when I heard my name being yelled. Turning around, I noticed Dave and Becky running towards me.

"You guys going to the roof to?" he asked me.

I nodded as I put my hands on Emily's shoulders. They glanced at her and then me and then looked around.

"Where is your mom?" Becky asked.

I grimaced and they hung their heads, grief shown on their faces.

"I'm so sorry Ellie", Dave said hugging me. I nodded and felt the hot prick of tears once again battling to take me over. I fought against them and tried to smile. It came out a little shakily, but it worked and he smiled hesitantly back.

"She…she is in a better place now", I replied.

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

***Nick***

Finally after what had to be hours, the line was half of what it had been. I figured in another few hours I would be home free. What I didn't realize though, was not too far away and coming closer, infected had begun their attack. The horde was coming and I would get a glimpse of what the Green flu really was.

Beside me, I heard a woman coughing. Her face was pale and sweaty and she seemed really sick. Her husband looked worried as he patted her back with each cough. Her kids kept glancing up at her in fear and I myself was starting to get a little nervous. I didn't know the symptoms of the flu but I hoped she didn't have it.

A CEDA worker seemed to hear her and started this way. They put on gloves as they carefully felt around her throat and stomach area. A few words were said and I couldn't hear them no matter how hard I strained to, but the woman nearly collapsed all at once and her husband caught her before she hit the ground. He looked panicked and the CEDA worker called over some help. Several more CEDA workers picked her up and carried her away with her husband and kids following. I watched along with many other spectators as she was taken into the back of an ambulance to be worked on.

I would have relaxed then if not for the ground vibrating all at once.

People started screaming out earthquake, but I didn't think that was it. I had lived in California a few years when I was younger and knew earthquakes. This didn't feel like one. Looking around, I and several others spotted something coming towards the west wing of people standing in line. We watched in shocked horror as a gruesome tank of a creature ran out of the woods and started slaughtering them all.

***Elissa***

The creature we spotted was making its way towards us. I didn't hesitate to grab my gun and begin firing at it. I had Emily to keep safe and I was not going to let anything get to her. Dave who I had noticed had been carrying a shotgun quickly unloaded on it as well. People in front of it didn't stand a chance as it swung its arms taking people out left and right.

A car was in its way and I watched as it flipped it over, sending it into a crowd to the right. I tried not to pay attention to the people dying and screaming as I kept firing, only taking a moment to load the rifle my Pa had thankfully taught me to use when I was young.

Beside us, police lined up and using their own shotguns and pistols started shooting at it. I noticed other country bumpkins like me were also grabbing their guns and firing. I didn't think the thing would ever go down, but after what seemed an eternity of running backwards and firing; it dropped and didn't move again.

The police started towards it cautiously and I watched as one of them kicked it. When it didn't move, they lowered their guns and CEDA quickly rushed in on it.

I turned back to look at Emily whose face was pale and sweaty. She was shaking again and I knew she was in shock. Carefully putting my rifle back on my back with the strap my father had taken the time to thankfully buy for it, I kneeled in front of her and wiped some of the hair out of her face.

"Emily", I said gently.

She looked down at me.

"It's going to be alright", I said and meant it.

She didn't say anything, but she hugged me with a death grip and I smiled up at Dave who smiled back.

***Nick***

I don't know who those people were firing on it, but the thing was still moving pretty fast right for them. I didn't think it would ever go down as I watched the bullets literally bounce off of it. The thing was massive and strong and I hoped to never have a run in with one without tons of people around me, shielding me.

Yeah okay, so my thoughts are selfish, but I wanted to live dang it and that was what I was planning to do. With everyone still watching it and gossiping, I began moving forward through the unsuspecting crowd, trying to get closer to safety.

***Elissa***

After the thing went down, CEDA seemed appreciative of our assistance and made a show of thanking us for our guns. I didn't care so long as Emily was safe. However as thank you, they handed us a bag of fresh food and bottles of water.

One of the police men came over to me.

"I noticed you were the first to begin firing at it", he said as he handed me a silver cased 9mll that looked almost new. "This was my buddies, but the thing…it killed him. If it will do you good, I am sure he would want someone like you to have it."

"Thank you", I said astonished.

I took it gratefully and stuck it in the back of my pants, safety on.

The man merely nodded and turned away.

I watched as Emily chowed down on her food and guzzled her water. I felt guilty she was so hungry, but I knew last night and this morning we didn't really have a chance to eat anything. I was hungry to, but I felt a nagging feeling in the gut of my stomach telling me to save it, so I stuffed it into the backpack I had grabbed from the house earlier.

"You're not going to eat it?" asked Emily.

"I'm not hungry right now", I lied.

She seemed to believe me and went back to her own meal, but Dave looked at me weirdly and I could tell from his face he didn't believe me so easily. I shrugged. He sighed and pulled out a small bag of chips from his and handed them to me. I shook my head.

"Thanks but like I said, I am fine."

He gave me that look again but put it back in his bag and tied the food to his belt. He would save his for another time as well.

We had to have been waiting for several more hours when I felt a vibration again. But this time, it didn't just vibrate; the sky literally seemed to become darker as a scream of thousands of voices filled the air. Everyone stopped their movements and turned looking for the noise.

I noticed the CEDA workers and the police looking towards the north and I found myself watching that way to. Noticing my look, Dave and the others turned towards that direction as well and we all watched in horror as thousands of those infected people like Keith and my mama came running.


	9. Fight or Flight

**Chapter Eight:**

Fight or Flight

***Nick***

I backed up, knocking people down and not caring who I ran over to get away from the thousands of those freaks coming at us. I started running. I didn't care if I was going the right direction of the hotel, I just knew if I didn't run now I would die without a doubt.

I heard shooting behind me and could see police and other hillbilly hicks shooting at them but it was barely making a dent. Keeping my hand on my gun, I shoved my way through towards the hotel doors.

I was almost there when an elbow came out of nowhere and slammed me down. Blood ran down my nose and I looked up only to see men and women and children scrambling past me trying to get inside before they were caught by those creatures.

I had to literally push people down to get back up, as they were literally stepping on me to get past me. I pushed my way through again and finally got inside the doors.

***Elissa* **

I watched as people literally ran over others to get inside the hotel. I was shocked at their animal like behavior to save themselves, but then I looked over at Emily and I could understand their need to protect their loved ones. Grabbing her, I began shoving us through the crowd. Dave and Becky were behind us, also shoving people out of their way and ours as we made our way through the chaos.

Behind us, I heard the screeches of the creatures and the screams of the people who were being caught. Glancing back I watched in horror as the once a person now turned monster devoured another person, literally eating them. Horrified and disgusted, it only made me push harder to get Emily and myself inside.

When we did get in, I noticed that both staircases were full of people trying to get up the stairs. I went to the right staircase with my friends and began fighting, trying hard to get past those moving slower. While I never believed in it before, I knew now this was literally survival of the fittest at its most extreme.

***Nick***

I rushed through the door and saw two staircases. I took the left one which seemed to have less people and ran up it as fast my legs would carry me. I pushed my way through the people, not really caring if I knocked them down or stepped on anyone. I had to get out of here. Looking around, I heard something shrill and glanced out the window of the hallway to see the radio tower falling towards the hotel. I screamed, not caring if I sounded like a girl and ran into one of the open hotel rooms.

Others followed my lead when they saw the tower coming, but most didn't see it and the hotel groaned with the impact as windows shattered, killing people with the glass and the fires that burst out in different sections because of it.

Seeing I was trapped by flames, I took a chair and threw it through the window and started carefully across the window ledges. I was moving slow and trying my hardest not to look down. I knew if I did look down, I would never be able to keep moving.

***Elissa***

I heard the noise and looked out the window. I saw the tower falling towards the hall a little ahead of us. I motioned to it with my hand and tried to yell out a warning to the people ahead of me, but they couldn't hear me over the sound of the tower and the screams of the people below our floor. I knew those creatures had gotten in and I was bound determined to get to the hotel roof, but I would do it making sure we were alive to enjoy it.

That being said I dodged the people and ran into a hotel room where I noticed people across on the other side of the hotel where the tower was falling making their way out on the window seal. Following their lead, I kept a hand on Emily as we edged out and started around the crowd and fires that had burst out because of the hotel damage.

When we finally got to the end of the window seals, I used the butt of my rifle to knock out a window pane and helped those who had been following my lead through onto the stable floor. They thanked me kindly as we made our way to the elevator. From there we used it to lift ourselves to the top floor. The door dinged and we stepped off.

Just as we did, the elevator gave a groan and half of our group fell with it as it gave out and crashed to the first floor, no doubt killing hundreds below us. We all stopped in shock and stared at it, but I knew we had to keep moving. Slowing down now could get us killed or even left behind.

I grabbed Emily's hand and checking that Dave and Becky were still behind me, we ran for the stairs.

The building groaned and creaked as I noticed flames a few floors down in the staircase. We needed to keep moving before they caught up to us.

Willing myself to move faster, I helped Emily and the older couple that were still with us up the stairs.

We finally reached the roof door and I nearly fell onto the ground and kissed it when I saw the helicopter sitting there with several more people in front us being talked to by a few pilots. They saw us and came over to where we were standing.

"We have this helicopter and one more coming. After that there won't be another one for an hour or two."

I nodded and grimaced.

Would we even survive here long enough for another one to come? I wondered to myself.

As they loaded up the first helicopter, I noticed it was as full as they could get it.

The second one was the same way. They loaded people on to it and when they turned to the last few of us remaining which were me, Emily, Becky, Dave, and an older couple, and they said the words I had feared most.

"We only have room for three more."

We looked between ourselves and the old couple stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

"We are old and have lived good lives", they said and smiled kindly as they looked at us, "go, live a long life for us."

I didn't even get to thank them or ask their names before they turned around and headed back towards the stairs.

Where they thought they were going I didn't know and I didn't ask. I had other things to worry about at the moment.

I glanced at the helicopter and walked them over to it.

"Ellie, come on", Emily begged me as she grabbed my wrist.

I looked at Dave and Becky and knew they wouldn't leave one another, even if the other begged.

"Go guys, please and take Emily with you. Keep her safe for me and Keith."

Dave and Becky looked horrified, but I shook my head and mouthed "please", my voice just didn't want to work anymore.

Becky gave me a huge hug and then started to pull Emily with her. Emily however screamed and cried, running to me and grabbing me.

I had to fight to keep myself from going with her on the helicopter, but there was only room for three and she had to be one of them for certain and I wouldn't dare separate Dave and Becky.

After losing Keith, I didn't think there was something worse than being separated from your lover.

"Please", Emily begged again, "come with me!"

I shook my head as I wiped her tears away, my own tears against my will making their way down my face.

"I love you so much Emily. You are all I have left of Keith and I beg you, please live for me and live for him."

She wept openly on my shoulder and I rubbed her back as I handed her off to Becky who she curled up around and refused to leave as she cried. Dave watched them board the helicopter. He was the only one left beside me. He grabbed the bag at his belt and took off the shotgun and handed them both to me.

"You may need these", he said with a slight smile, but I could tell he was really hurting.

"You are one of my best friends Dave; please take care of yourselves and Emily."

"Promise me", he said after a moment to get his emotions under control, "Promise me I will see you again."

I paused for a moment, I knew he knew I didn't have the assurance to promise that, but I knew we both just needed to hear it.

"I promise."

He gave me a large tight hug and then took off to the helicopter, not looking back.

I took the bag he had offered and put it in my backpack. I slung his shotgun on my shoulder where my rifle was located and after checking all my gear was situated, I began to wave at them and ran to the edge of the roof top as I smiled and jumped up and down.

I could see Emily was laughing and I smiled, glad I could see her laughter one last time.

As the helicopter flew away into the setting sun and got smaller and smaller the further it flew, I pulled the cap over my eyes and let myself cry.


	10. The die is Cast

**Chapter Nine:**

The die is cast

***Elissa***

I probably would have cried longer, but not a few moments after its departure, the door burst open behind me and two people stumbled onto the roof.

I turned to see them panting for breath. One was a large black man wearing an FHS purple and yellow shirt with a pair of khaki pants. He rested against the table that had been set up by CEDA where different medical emergency items and tools were located.

Beside him, a dark skinned woman collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving with the effort of having run up the stairs. She smiled as she sat up but then she frowned upon seeing I was the only one standing there on the roof with them.

"Where is the helicopter?" she asked in sudden fright.

I shook my head, my voice still not very strong. I fought past the need to cry again and pointed at the black dots on the horizon. She moaned and lay back down against the hard cold concrete floor. The black man moaned as well and slid down the wall to the ground to sit and rest.

"Just when I thought I would be out of this nightmare", she muttered.

I glanced back at the woman and something nagged at my memory. I couldn't remember what though. For some reason she seemed familiar to me, but I knew for sure I hadn't ever met her. A customer at the garage I wondered?

I was about to comment on it when the door again burst open, startling the poor man and woman who shot up from the ground, each pulling a hand gun and pointing it at the door. They stopped though when they saw a man in a white suit and a blue button up shirt leaning on his knees panting.

His shirt seemed a bit bloodied and his suit looked off white from all the dirt that had no doubt gotten on it. I could see soot from the fire on him as well which made me figure he had been near the area the tower had fallen down on.

He glanced around at us and moaned. You could see he understood what this meant right away and he looked as crestfallen as the others. He looked oddly familiar as well but I couldn't put my finger on where I had seen him. He looked pretty wealthy though, maybe I saw him on TV? Sighing, I decided not to think about these things now. We definitely had worse things to consider.

***Nick***

I groaned when I noticed the two dots on the horizon getting smaller the further away they got. I could tell from the other three that they knew what they were as well. I glanced around at them and was surprised to see we were the only ones on the roof. Surely of all the people fighting to get here, we weren't the only ones who made it?

I just shook my head and sat down on the air conditioning unit a few feet away. I pulled out a cigarette from my jacket and noticed my hand was trembling. Dang it, I need a drink, I thought to myself.

"So, are we the only ones who made it?" the dark skinned woman asked.

I shrugged, even though I knew she wasn't just talking to me.

"Seems so", said the large bald black man.

"I guess", said the girl to the left of me.

I looked a little more closely at her. She was wearing a yellow V-neck shirt that read bull shifters with a crocodile on the front of it. Her blue jean overalls were tied around her waist, hiding what I suspected to be some nice curves by her upper body structure. Her hair was a light brown and curly, pulled into a tight high knot pony tail. Her skin was pale and sweaty, I assumed like the rest of us she had been running for a while.

She paced back and forth as though sitting was a foreign idea to her. I noticed the guns and backpack she had strapped on. She came prepared, I thought to myself. For some reason she seemed familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. I also noticed the other dark skinned woman. She also seemed a bit familiar but it just wasn't coming to me.

I turned my attention back to female hick and noticed her steel toed boots. I figured with the grease covered overalls and boots she must have either worked in a factory or at a garage of some sort. She looked young as well; I wonder why she is up here all alone.

Whatever, I thought to myself, not like it matters to me why she is alone.

I took another puff of my cigarette and smirked as I thought about all the possible ladies waiting for me back home. First I just had to get there.

***Elissa***

I felt a little uncomfortable. The man in the white suit was staring at me and I could feel my face heat up. I don't know why I blushed but then again, not many men stared at me so intently, except Keith.

The thought of Keith made me frown. I wish he was here with me now.

Sighing, I sat down and took a breath. It felt good just to sit for a bit without people dying all around me. Then again, I thought as I glanced down at the ground below the roof top, everyone was more than likely dead now if they weren't up here.

***Nick***

I noticed the girls face become downcast and I wondered what had made her so sad. I watched as she stood up again only seconds after sitting and look down at the ground below. I wondered what she was thinking as she looked down. I wondered if she was perhaps feeling regret or maybe thankfulness at having escaped the horde. Perhaps she was contemplating suicide. I hoped she didn't, she seemed too cute to die.

As though the thought themselves slapped me, I also mentally slapped myself. What the heck did I just think! Why am I thinking about some hick girl I don't even know! Since when have I cared about anyone's wellbeing aside from my own?

Huffing at my own thoughts, I blew out the smoke from my cigarette through my nose and studied the young woman. I don't know what it is about her; something just made me curious. Still, I ignored it, knowing if I wanted to get out of here alive, I didn't need to start feeling anything for anybody. I was better off on my own.

***Elissa***

"So…" started the dark skinned woman, "What are your names?"

"My friend's call me Coach", said the big black man.

"Nick", said the fella in white.

They turned expectantly to me and I felt the blood rush to my head.

Hoping to calm my nerves, I smiled largely and jumped off the piping system I had been standing on.

"My name is Elissa, but you can call me Ellie or El, but El is kind of a boy's name, so just Ellie works unless you want to call me El."

They looked at me like I had just said the most ridiculous thing and then they burst out laughing. I laughed with them, glad I had somehow done something to make them all smile. Even the grumpy looking Nick smirked at what I had said.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you all", she said with a friendly smile, "My name is Rochelle."

"Oh of course!" I yelled.

They looked at me like I was crazy again but I ignored it, seeing as how I finally recalled why she had seemed so familiar to me.

"You're the TV reporter!"

She laughed and nodded, "yeah that's me."

"Dang girl, I thought you looked familiar" Coach boomed out as he laughed.

Nick just kept that smirk on his face as he threw his cigarette to the side, seemingly done with it.

"We should get moving", he said as he stood up.

"Yeah, I was told another evacuation site was at the old mall. Maybe we should head there?" asked Rochelle.

"Sounds good to me", I said, "The pilot earlier told me it would be another possible few hours before they got back to this roof."

They all looked a bit downcast at that news, but at least we had some news instead of nothing to go on.

As if reading my mind, they perked up and walked over to the emergency table. Each one picked up a med kit and I noticed while they all had a pistol and Nick a magnum, they were looking at the tools with interest.

"Bet these could bust some heads", said Nick with a smile.

That smile sent chills down my spine. Trying to hide the fact I had shivered, I looked at the others. I noticed Rochelle looking at the tools with disdain. Pulling the shotgun Dave had given me from my back, I handed it to her.

"Here, maybe this would work for you?"

She glanced at it and her face lit up.

"Thanks Ellie, I could always handle a gun better than swinging something heavy around."

I nodded in understanding as I waited for them all to finish preparing their supplies so we could move out.


	11. Burning Hotel

**Chapter Ten:**

Burning Hotel

***Nick***

I watched the others as we started down the stairs to the first floor of what I had now decided to call 'Zombies'. Considering they ate humans and acted like zombies, it seemed fitting.

Each of the people with me seemed to be able to handle themselves pretty well. Coach seemed really strong, able to take out an entire group of the creatures with a single swing.

Rochelle I noticed was an ace with the shotgun and she didn't seem to hesitate to shoot. Although I noticed she was shaking each time she slowed down a bit. Adrenaline I imagined, we all were running pretty high on it right now I could assume.

The one person who really amazed me the most though was Ellie or Overalls as I had started to call her just to be a jerk. I don't like feeling attracted to people and I knew as long as I kept myself distant from her, I could leave with no problems, no strings attached. I was hoping annoying her and the others would make it easier when the time came, so that I could slip away, hopefully unnoticed.

Ellie would shock me each time she confronted a zombie. At first she seemed rather nervous and I could tell she felt something each time she looked down at the corpses we passed in the halls and hotel rooms, but eventually I noticed she had steeled herself and with every shot, the hard look in her eyes only got harder.

I myself had no problem killing these things. They were either going to kill me or I was going to kill them and I promise you, I would choose them first before me any day.

As we rounded a corner I noticed the flames blocking the path we needed to take. Without hesitation, we all went to the window ledge and slowly and cautiously made our way across to the other window where we could continue our way down the hall.

I would have thought Coach would have the hardest time with this considering his weight and width, but I had to admit, the man could become twinkle toes if he had to. I was impressed at his grace and quick speed that he achieved in getting across the ledge before all of us. Behind him was Ellie and then next was Rochelle and then me. I balanced myself with my arms as I walked and just when I thought I was home free, of course something had to go wrong.

***Elissa***

I thought we were all across when I heard the sound of glass breaking. One second Nick was there and the next it was like he had vanished into thin air.

Surprised and worried, I quickly made my way over to where he had last been. I did this before the others could stop me. I couldn't leave someone behind, not now after all I had already been through and all the people I had already lost.

I looked into the room and was horrified at what I found. A tall half creature, half man stood there, a slimy what looked to be tongue wrapped around Nick's neck and chest. The tongue restricted his arms making them unable to move to help himself. He was slowly being strangled to death and I knew I needed to take action.

The creature coughed and hacked, smoke coming from it as though it was a smoke stack set on fire. Its face was deformed with almost bubbly looking flesh sacks on its face and neck and arms.

"S-shoot it", Nick ground out.

I didn't hesitate with my shot. I aimed, careful not to hit Nick, and then fired.

The bullet penetrated the creatures head and the next thing I know, he and I are both coughing as the creature explodes into a thick cloud of smoke.

"T-thanks", he mutters, barely loud enough for me to hear, but I did hear it and so I said "Your welcome", and smiled.

He glanced at me but didn't say anything else as we went back onto the ledge and got to where Coach and Rochelle were waiting for us.

"You guys okay?' Rochelle asked as she helped me down from the window.

I nodded but could see a dark bruise forming around Nick's neck. That would hurt tomorrow, I thought to myself.

***Nick***

My neck was killing me as I made my way behind the others. I could tell it was swelling. As long as it didn't cut off my breathing I could make it, I thought, but after a few minutes I realized I could hardly even turn my head.

"Crapping great", I muttered, not realizing Ellie could hear me.

She stopped all at once making me almost run into her. I was about to complain about it when she whirled around and handed me a bottle of pills.

"Take these", she said, "I found them earlier. They are pain pills; it will help with the swelling and the ache your feeling in your neck."

I took them and nodded my thanks as I swallowed them the best I could down my throat. It was hard to do but when they kicked in, I could feel the difference like night and day.

We finally made it to the elevator shaft.

I noticed Ellie looking at the crashed one beside it and I had a feeling she knew something about it. I kept the question to myself though and quickly got into the one still standing. Ellie was last in, practically glaring at the thing like it was going to fall as soon as she put one foot inside it. She sighed with relief when it started down without any issues.

We were nearly to the bottom when it shifted. I could see her gaze darken as the elevator groaned. Smoke began to rise and I knew we had hit probably where the other elevator had crashed down at.

When the doors opened I knew I was right. Debris was everywhere and fire roamed the halls, not leaving hardly any passing room.

Ellie looked a little better now that the elevator had landed and I noticed Coach and Rochelle seemed a little glad to be stepping off the thing as well.

"If I remember right, the safe room located here in the hotel is this way", said Rochelle as she started leading the way.

"What are safe rooms?" asked Ellie.

I had to admit, I was curious to know as well.

"When the Green Flu began to become epidemic, CEDA chose specific relatively safe locations to act as safe rooms, where survivors or CEDA workers could go to get supplies or stay in a relatively locked down location."

She stopped to shoot some stray zombies and then continued as we ran.

"Every safe room should be unlocked as long as no one is inside. That being said, most people don't stay in them over night, they usually leave it open for other survivors and pass on through, grabbing some extra ammo or health kits along the way."

We found the sitting room and went inside, grateful to be able to rest. With the door firmly closed behind us, we looked around the room.

***Elissa***

I watched as Coach pulled the door closed behind us after we entered. I was never more glad to be out of the smoke and fire. Heck, I was never more glad just to be out of this flipping hotel.

That being said, I turned around and planted myself on the sofa beside Rochelle who was laying out in one of the chairs, exhaustion clearly read in her every feature.

"Ellie girl", said Coach, "how did you learn to shoot like that?"

I smiled, glad he noticed.

"Well see, one time me and my buddy Keith, we were hunting turkeys for thanksgiving out at his uncles farm and I…"

"Really, you want to do story time now?" asked Nick, obviously not interested in hearing it.

"Alright fine", said Coach with a huff, "How about you tell us your story then Nick?"

Nick seemed a bit annoyed at that question but then shrugged.

"I'm a gambler who came to Savannah to obviously gamble. Then those freaks attacked. Simple enough story."

Coach just shook his head and looked to Rochelle.

"I was sent here from California to cover the Green flu epidemic out this way", she said after a moment of thinking, "then my camera man turned and attacked me all at once. I got away and started towards the hotel where I had told others to go."

Coach nodded and turned his head to me. I wasn't really interested in telling them my story, but I could see how tired and sad they all were. I felt I needed to cheer them up somehow.

"Well," I started trying to think of something to say that was cheerful, "I was having breakfast with my Mama and Keith and we had the biggest bunch of pancakes you ever did see. My mama she is a real cook you know and man, I could use some of her cooking right now."

I licked my lips and smiled dreamily, honestly thinking about her cooking and wishing I had it now. Rochelle and Coach laughed, Nick smirked and I felt a real honest smile come onto my face. It was nice to hear them laugh.

"Well", started Coach, "I was at the school, having just finished a football game with my boys I was coaching when I heard the siren. The school sent them home real quick and told the rest of us to waste no time evacuating. I did as they said and took off for the hotel I heard them talking about on the radio."

I was glad the attention was off me and that I had blocked the attempt to hear my story. Now if only I could keep this up, I would be alright.


	12. Grief

**Chapter Eleven:**

Grief

***Nick***

We started out about six in the morning. None of us could sleep well. There wasn't much room to move in this safe house and I wasn't really up to sleeping as I could hear those creatures outside our door.

I pulled out a deck of cards and played solitaire for a bit before Rochelle made her way over to me. She and I played war for about an hour and then she decided to try to sleep again.

Coach snored like a bear, but he tossed and turned a lot on the couch.

Staring out the safe room door we would be leaving in the morning was Ellie who using a silenced pistol, was picking off zombies from the safety of the room through the barred window.

"Overalls", I said after a moment, "want to play black jack?"

She came over and looked at the cards, a weird look on her face; a mixture between sadness and interest. Then she flopped down beside me on the floor and nodded, her face sinking into her knees as she pulled them up to her chest.

"You know how to play?" I asked.

She nodded. "My Pa taught me", she said after a moment.

Ah, so her Pa must be dead I figured. I wondered if it was from the Green Flu or something else. It was probably why she looked sad when looking at the cards.

We played for a while and I was surprised at how good her luck was. She won almost every turn. I wasn't exactly excited about this, seeing as how I was betting my food, but I got her laughing, so I was happy I had made her smile.

Wait, what?

I mentally had to rewind my thoughts to pick up on what I had just said.

Did I say I was glad to make her smile? Oh lord, I am falling into desperation. She's a hick for goodness sakes and…

I stopped thinking when I noticed her staring at me. She looked a little worried and it made me start looking at her eyes. They were a pale light blue, almost gray but still blue enough to make them look almost like the sky. Her cheeks were pink I noticed from what looked to be a blush making her way up her face and…

Oh.

I immediately snapped out of it and realized I had been staring at her. Way to go Nick, way to go, I mentally chided myself.

***Elissa***

He was staring at me again.

I tried to look away but the way he was staring…it was hard to not just stare back and get lost in his light green eyes. They were so beautiful. I shook my head when he seemed to snap out of it. What am I thinking? Keith just died and you're acting like a high school girl blushing cause of a cute boy.

The thought of Keith mellowed me. I reached up and took off my hat, caressing it as I pictured his smiling face. His laugh sounded like honey to me as I remembered earlier yesterday, playing in the hose with him and…

I stopped when I felt a soft hand touch my face. Looking up, I noticed the most gentle of looks on Nicks face. He wiped my tears away and the fact that someone was trying to comfort me made me lose it. I began to cry and he pulled me close, holding me against his chest. I couldn't handle the pain. I couldn't handle Keith's memory. It was all too much for one person.

"You will be okay", Nick whispered into my ear.

"Hush now", he said gently as he rubbed my back.

"Everything will be alright", he said again.

We both knew his words were a lie, but it still made me feel better. I could tell this was a bit awkward for him, but I needed this moment. A moment to not hide behind a smiling mask and just grieve; grieve the loss of my best friend, my boyfriend, my mother, my friends, and my little sister. I had lost everything I held dear in a span of two days and I felt it all crash down on me as I sobbed into his white jacket.

***Nick***

I couldn't help myself. One moment I was chastising myself for remotely having any feelings for her, when the next thing I know, I look into her eyes and see the tears spilling over. There was so much grief in her face. I couldn't help but want to wipe those tears away and comfort her. I reached up before I even knew what I was doing and began to wipe them off her cheeks. It seemed to be the thing she needed, because the next thing I know, she is in my arms sobbing and I am comforting her best I can.

I have never been someone to comfort other people. I have never been someone to feel grief or regret for many things either, but when I pulled her into my arms…it just felt right. I can't really explain it better than that. When I tugged her close, I needed to say something to make her feel better, anything at all.

When she started to get quieter, I noticed her face was red from having cried so hard. She seemed embarrassed with herself as her shoulders shook; she tried to calm herself down.

I ran my hands through her hair. It was so soft.

I noticed her lips, how pink and soft they looked and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing said lips. I was kissing them and thinking about how good it felt to kiss again, when I felt a slap sting across my face.

Surprised, I jerked back and saw her tear streaked face glaring at me.

"Don't pity me you jerk", she said and stood up and vanished into the bathroom where she closed the door with a loud bang.

I sat there, stunned at my own actions.


	13. Dead Center

**Chapter Twelve:**

Dead Center

***Elissa***

I stayed away from Nick as the memory of last night was still clear in my mind. Honestly I shouldn't have slapped him. I had sought comfort in his arms and it was my mistake that lead to him not understanding the feelings I had showed to him. Easing my own conscious, I told myself he was probably just trying to comfort me further.

I sighed; even if he wasn't trying to just comfort me, I owed him an apology.

"A gun and Ammo store is just up the road", said Coach. I knew the one he was talking about. My Pa used to take me there when I was a kid to get his rifle cleaned and restocked.

"Well let's get going then", Rochelle yelled happily as she started forward with a larger amount of vigor.

I trotted along contently behind them with Coach right beside me. Nick stayed in the back, I could tell he kept glancing at me, but I wasn't quite ready to face him yet. Not after I wrongly slapped him for trying to help me.

***Nick***

I kept glancing at Ellie. She seemed to be ignoring me and I couldn't blame her at all. I had kissed her in her moment of need and it was my fault. Still, I didn't know why this bothered me so much or why I had even kissed her in the first place?

Did I really feel attracted to her that much?

I shook my head, perplexed by my own emotions. Whatever I was feeling, I needed to kill it now, I couldn't be in love with a small town hick nor could I be in love with anyone period. Not after Robin…

I was just starting to walk faster to catch up to the others when I noticed a shadow on the roof above the gun store. A crouched figure was there, watching us as we got closer. Curious as to what it was, I watched it until I noticed the red blood coating its hooded sweatshirt.

"Above you!" I yelled out.

I had tried to shout a warning, but the thing jumped at the same time the words escaped my lips and it was going straight for Ellie. The thing pounced on her like a tiger having stalked a prey and began to claw at her chest and stomach.

Ellie screamed and kicked and fought like a wounded beast. Coach, Rochelle, and I aimed at the thing, being careful not to hit Ellie and fired. We had to have unloaded at least 15-30 shots each from our guns and only barely did it go down.

It stopped clawing her and stumbled a few feet before finally laying down and dying.

"Ellie!" yelled Rochelle rushing to her.

I watched from above as they pressed some bandages from the med kit against her bleeding wounds. I couldn't tell what the damage was, but there was quite a bit of blood. Luckily she was still conscious. She smiled when Coach said something to her, but it quickly turned into a grimace as Rochelle pressed down harder, trying to stem the blood flow.

"We should get her inside", I said quickly as I heard screeches coming from not too far away, no doubt the blood was drawing them.

Rochelle and Coach agreed.

"Nick, grab her left side. Coach grab her right, I got her head."

I nodded and quickly went to where Rochelle had wanted me. When I saw the pain she was in, I felt my heart tighten up.

"Hang on Ellie", I whispered.

She looked at me and my heart did a flip when she smiled.

***Elissa***

With Nick holding me, I felt safe. I don't know why I felt so comfortable around him, but there was just something about him that made me feel like he was a good guy to be with. As they carried me inside, my stomach feeling like it's on fire, Nick and Coach sat me down gently on the ground. Nick pulled me up onto his chest to set me up a bit as Rochelle grimaced at the blood caking my yellow badly damaged shirt.

"I need to take a look at it," she said waiting for my okay.

I just nodded, as breathing hurt. I didn't know how bad it would hurt if I tried to talk.

She pulled my shirt up all the way past my bra. I noticed Nick staring and I tried hard not to blush. It was pretty easy to do when Rochelle started smearing antibiotic cream onto the wounds. The pain was ferocious as I dug my nails into whatever I was clutching, which I noticed happened to be Nicks arm. I couldn't stop though as I grimaced as she had to adjust my bra to get to the other wounds.

Nick I noticed was still watching, although I could feel his other hand playing with a strand of my hair. I focused on that feeling while I waited for Rochelle to finish her first aid.

***Nick***

When Rochelle started up with her shirt, I meant to look away, but I found myself practically entranced as I watched it go further up until I saw her black sports bra. It would have been a sexy moment if it wasn't for the blood gushing out of five furrows along her stomach and chest and the sharp nails digging into my right arm.

I nearly screamed when she first began to clutch so tightly to me. It was almost more than I could stand.

Trying to help her relax, I found a stray piece of hair ticking my left hand. I began twirling it between my fingers and she seemed to calm down a bit as I did that. No doubt it gave her something to focus on besides the pain and probably the embarrassment of showing her chest to a man she just met who also happened to have kissed her last night.

I sighed.

Somehow this day just kept getting better and better.

***Elissa***

I must have passed out because next thing I knew, my head was lying on what I noticed to be Nick's jacket and my chest and stomach felt a little better. Around me, I could hear whispering and I sat up, trying not to moan as I made my way towards it.

"So what did he say?" asked Rochelle.

"Said he would blow up the road block if we got him soda from the store down yonder", answered Coach.

"Think you can do it?"

"I'm guessing the store has an alarm. I think we best be careful should we decide to do it."

"What about Ellie?" asked Nick, "We can't just leave her here alone."

"I will come with you guys", I said deciding to make my presence known.

They all seemed relieved to see I was awake.

"How you feeling Ellie girl?" asked Coach.

I smiled at his title of endearment.

"I'm better Coach, thank you", I said with a large smile and a wink.

Rochelle was smiling to as she looked me over.

"You do have more color, but this may be harder than you are up to right now."

I shook my head.

"Nah, even if I don't go down to the shop with you, I can scope them out from up here and help you guys out by picking them off."

"Sounds good", said Nick, "but while you're doing that, you're going to need someone to watch your back. I will stay with Ellie while you and coach go to the shop."

Rochelle nodded.

"Alright, sounds good", she said as she grabbed one of the new shotguns from the gun store wall.

Coach grabbed an AR15 and Nick grabbed another magnum so he could dual wield and slipped the machete he found, behind his back. He then grabbed a shotgun and glanced at me.

I grabbed a scoping rifle with a red laser to help me aim and started following the others towards the door. I stopped when I remember the jacket I had been laying on. I grabbed it quickly and then handed it to Nick.

Nick looked at it and then slipped it back on, following close to me as we headed outside.

"Alright Whitaker, we are going to get your soda, but you better keep your bargain", yelled Coach into the security camera that was watching us as we moved outside.

I took my spot across from the store while I watched Coach and Rochelle make their way towards the store.

Beside me, I felt Nick shuffle closer.

***Nick***

I got closer to her. I could feel the wind and didn't want her getting chilled with such serious injuries. I noticed her glance at me, but I made no move to talk to her. I knew she was probably still a little peeved at me from earlier.

Taking up a protective stance, I pulled my dual magnums out and got ready to take on the horde.

"Sorry about the slap" she said all at once.

I was surprised at her apology but quickly schooled my face not to show it.

"You didn't have to slap me", I barked back.

She nodded. "I know."

I didn't say anything, still shocked at how the tables had turned all at once.

The alarm went off and screams were heard as the horde starting running from the roof tops and doorways, trying to follow the alarm.

I pulled a pipe bomb from my pocket and tossed it down below. I knew they would follow the noise and hopefully stay away from Rochelle and Coach for a while.

They scrambled after the bomb and I watched as a large mushroom cloud of red appeared above where the large amount of zombies had been. I always loved those things.

I heard a screeching sound and saw the thing that had attacked Ellie before watching Coach and Rochelle. I was about to yell a warning when a shot pierced the air, killing the creature in a second flat as a bullet enter through its skull, giving it no time to react.

I glanced over at Ellie in shock. Seeing my face she smirked at my surprise and continued to scope out the zombies surrounding Rochelle and Coach.

Laughing, I fired at the little devils that even tried to come our way. Together, she and I were what I might even call, unstoppable.

***Elissa***

When Coach and Rochelle delivered the cola to the man burrowed down in his room, we headed out towards the area the large explosion had occurred at. Climbing past the debris, we kept a cautious eye open as we spotted the mall not too far away.

"There it is", I heard Coach mumble in appreciation. I smiled, thinking the same thing. Hopefully here we could find rescue.

When we reached the safe room door, I glanced back outside and frowned. Everything I had once known was gone. Would it ever be like it had been again?

As though in answer to my question, I felt a kind hand grasp my shoulder. I glanced back into Nicks deep green eyes and his slight smile.

"Come on kid", he said with a gentle pull, "We have to keep moving."

I just nodded and shut the door.


	14. Mall heist

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Mall Heist

***Nick***

As Coach and Rochelle took pot shots at zombies that were near the door, I glanced back at Ellie who looked to be in some pain.

"Want me to take a look at the bandages?" I asked.

I was surprised when she nodded. She must be in a lot of pain, I thought to myself.

I noticed Rochelle and Coach staring at us. I glared back at them until they backed off without saying anything. No doubt they were surprised I could be nice when I wanted to.

Coach had rubbed me the wrong way and now we both hardly said a word to one another after he and I had gotten into an argument earlier when Ellie had been asleep about what to do next. Rochelle on the other hand always looked at me as though she knew something I didn't. I hated that feeling, where she seemed to have one up on me.

Ellie groaned as I lifted her shirt. I tried to ignore the soft smooth skin around the injuries that beckoned me and instead lifted the blood encrusted bandages, trying hard not to set them off bleeding again. She seemed really sore and it was no wonder when I saw how red they were. They weren't infected but they looked nasty.

I readmitted the antibiotic cream to them and re-bandaged the ones on her stomach. However I hesitated to touch the ones on her chest. They were not as large or as numerous that high up, but there was one I was worried about that I knew had to of crossed her left breast a little.

I glanced at her and she bit her lip and nodded.

Taking a deep breath as though I was about to do major surgery, I gently pulled back her bra a bit and began to rub the cream onto it. Her face got red as I rubbed her breast and I couldn't help but want to feel her more. However I noticed it had started bleeding a little again cause of how hard I was doing it, so I quickly bandaged it up and moved on to the ones a little above it.

I ignored the small flash of disappointment that crossed her face and focused on the job at hand.

When I finished, I gently brought down her shirt and helped her up off her knees. She thanked me, her face still red as we quickly reloaded our weapons and started out the door.

***Elissa***

I tried hard not to moan when Nick had been rubbing my breast. I didn't expect it to feel so amazing. Still I was sort of disappointed when I noticed it had started bleeding and it made him stop. Mentally slapping myself, I couldn't believe my own thoughts. What would Keith say?

A small nagging voice in the back of my head said it for me.

Keith is dead, he wouldn't care.

Another voice however said, but Keith just died, surely it is too soon for love again.

I ignored both voices as we headed up the escalators towards the top level of the mall.

To the right of me, I noticed Nick staying close to my side. It made me smile a bit and I felt myself move closer to him without being able to stop myself.

He seemed a bit surprised at first, but then he smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I didn't say anything and neither did he as we walked side by side, carefully picking off stray zombies along the way.

***Nick***

I watched her as she walked beside of me. Ellie always seemed to look and act so happy. Something told me though deep down that she was having the hardest struggle of all of us dealing with this green flu epidemic.

I was curious about her backstory. I knew coach had asked her, but she had got off on breakfast instead of actually telling us about it. I wondered if that was on purpose or by accident. At the time I thought she was just air headed, but a nagging feeling makes me think differently now.

As we walked along through the mall, I noticed Rochelle looking through the glass of one of the shops.

She turned around and smirked and grabbed Elissa's hand. "Come with me. Boys, stay here."

Coach and I sighed.

Women and shopping, I wondered seriously why they had to do it even now in a freaking zombie apocalypse.

***Elissa***

"I am sure this might make both of us feel a bit better", she said as she dragged me along through the clothes. I wasn't about to tell her I had always been more of a tomboy who enjoyed looking at guns and crocodiles rather than clothes.

Rochelle shoved item after item at me, but I only kept a couple to try on. Rochelle herself started trying some on. She went into the changing room and changed out of her usual pink shirt into a light green one that said "Girl Power". A gold chain belt encircled it with a new pair of dark tight jeans and a pair of long flat black leather boots. She grabbed also a black and green striped headband and put on. She looked quite nice.

As though waiting for me to change I sighed and went into the changing room. I took with me a pair of baggy jeans and a black and light blue t-shirt with an Adidas logo on it. However when I stepped out in the no doubt, larger then what fit me clothes, she gave me an evil look and grabbed some things I didn't get to look at and pushed me back into the changing room.

I was really in for it, I thought to myself in despair.

When I came back out and looked in the mirror, I was honestly surprised by my own reflection. I actually looked…good.

Rochelle beside me smirked and started to reach up and take off the white and blue cap I wore but I turned with quick grab and clutched it to me, giving her a glare, daring her to try to take it from me.

She frowned.

"It looks so…" she stopped when she noticed the look I gave her.

"It belonged to someone I held very dear", I said and she nodded, no more questions asked.

***Nick***

I didn't know what I expected them to look like when they came back out, but I was definitely not expecting what I saw.

Both obviously had bagged their old clothes to keep for later, but their new outfits they wore now were amazing. Rochelle looked great in her new colors, but it was Ellie my eyes couldn't look away from.

Instead of the baggie clothes and bloody shredded shirt she had been wearing and I bet she still had in her bag; she came out in a tight fitting red V-neck shirt with a black and red chocker necklace around her throat with spikes. No doubt Rochelle thought it looked both stylish and something to keep the smokers tongue from constricting her around the throat. Her wrists both held black and red spiked bracelets and instead of the baggie jeans I had been imagining, I couldn't take my eyes off the form fitting light black jeans she now wore. They showed her curves fantastically and the black flat leather boots she wore matching Rochelle's made her look like a punk goddess.

I had to laugh though because while it fit her really nice, on her head was her usual blue and white ball cap hiding her mess of tangles that were thrown up in a sloppy high arch pony tail.

I could tell the outfit was much more Rochelle's style rather than Ellie's because the girl just looked downright uncomfortable wearing the jewelry and form fitting clothes.

"You look amazing", I said as she came near.

I saw her cheeks redden as she walked past me, following the others through the side hall. I quickly raced to catch up, my eyes following her the entire way.

***Elissa***

I felt so uncomfortable in these clothes and I think nick and the others could tell. Rochelle told me later as we walked that I could change at the safe room into one of the baggie outfits I had stubbornly kept. I couldn't exactly walk around in my other baggier yellow shirt I had worn. Still, I had brought it with me just in case we needed to use it as bandages.

As we came to the end of the hall, we noticed a pair of identical doors.

"There is an alarm here", said Coach with a frown.

We all grimaced knowing this would mean a desperate race to turn it off.

I watched as Nick stepped forward and took out his axe.

He cut the lock on the door handles and kicked it open. Sure enough, the alarm sounded and we took off running.

Zombies chased us as we ran for the control room. I saw Nick had raced ahead and was hitting the alarm, but a vibration going through the ground made all of us focus our attention on what we knew was coming. I had officially labeled it a Tank and I wasn't looking forward to getting reminded why.

***Nick***

I watched as Ellie and the others stopped in their movements. Even the low grade zombies, who I was beginning to call commies, had stopped and were watching for it to appear. The alarm was off but it had no doubt attracted the beast to us.

I had never fought one before, but I noticed how Ellie and Rochelle tensed. It seemed they had.

When the thing burst through, I was stunned beyond words. Its gruesome appearance was hardly even noticed by its enormous size and immense strength.

It flipped over everything it came into contact to, even the floor that it literally broke apart and began to throw at us. I noticed a piece going towards Ellie and I yelled out at her. She dodged easily and I was thankful she was so energetic and acrobatic.

Rochelle and Coach began opening fire on it and I joined in from up above. Ellie also began shooting but the thing was like a boulder, deflecting everything we had to throw at it.

I noticed a bile jar beside me, a jar I had found earlier that contained what I had defined as boomer puke.

Earlier when I had been driving across country to get to the hospital from the casino, I had seen the boomer for myself. How it had puked and made all the commies run to the puke and attack anything covered in it.

I smirked. I had the perfect plan.

I waited until the others were far enough away in case I missed, then I threw the bile jar at the tank where it shattered upon hitting him and covered his arms and head in the green gook. The commies swarmed it and it swatted at them like flies, but there were so many.

I watched the others run towards me, but I couldn't take my eyes away as I watched the commies kill it. Perhaps, I thought to myself, not everything about those mindless freaks, is bad.

I laughed as I heard the screaming behind me and continued on through the mall.

***Elissa***

I was amazed at Nicks plan. It had been ingenious. The others also had to admit it was and I could see the ego in him taking a step forward. Oh well, I thought, he did deserve some glory after that. He had saved our butts after all.

I followed the others into the elevator and I nearly hit the roof when I saw what was in the main mall lobby.

"Jimmy Gibbs Jr!" I yelled, ready to faint.

Beside me, I felt Coach slam up against the glass and stare down. His mouth dropped open and I thought he was going to join me in fainting.

"Who the hell is Gibby Jims Jr?" asked Nick, no doubt messing up his name on purpose.

"Jimmy Gibbs Jr. is the greatest race car driver ever! He is my hero! If I could father that mans children, I would do it in a heartbeat", I said dreamily, although I really didn't mean it. I could see from Nicks face the jealousy and it made me snicker.

Beside me I noticed Coach nod his head and I was a little freaked out by it, but he just laughed and soon Rochelle and I joined in. Nick seemed a little creeped out by all the love for Jimmy, but I wasn't kidding before when I said he was my hero. I loved watching him race.

I remembered when Keith had surprised me one day on my birthday in high school by taking me to see one of his races. We didn't have very good seats, but we had brought binoculars and I loved every minute of it.

***Nick***

I didn't know what it was about this Jimmy Gibbs that made Coach and Ellie so excited, but I immediately didn't like the man.

"Oh I got an idea", said Ellie all at once.

We all looked at her.

"If the car is here, that means there has to be gas somewhere in here to fill her up after the show. So all we have to do is find that gas and there we go; an escape vehicle to get closer to the next evacuation site."

"What about this evac site?" asked Coach.

"There is no one here Coach", said Rochelle sadly, "We got to keep looking."

The others nodded in agreement and I smiled, glad that they had decided to put her pretty smart plan into action.

I could tell she really, really, really wanted to drive that car. She was practically drooling as she stared at it.

As soon as those elevator doors opened, we took off after the gas. Of course nothing could go smoothly. As soon as we opened them, a horde rushed after us, no doubt having heard the elevator music.

We didn't waste any time however and before we knew it, we had found the gas cans strategically located around the mall. I had the last one in my hands when I heard it coming from the room to the left of me. A weeping sound of some kind feeling my ears brought my mind back to the casino when that girl had entered.

Beside me, I felt Rochelle and Ellie stiffen. Coach got a curious look on his face.

"Don't", I warned, but he gave me a look that clearly said, 'shove off Nick.'

"Why don't you want him to open it?" asked Ellie beside me.

"It's not a survivor Ellie, it's a…"

I didn't even get time to finish my statement when Coach kicked open the door and a startled scream echoed through the air. I watched in fascinated horror as it attacked Coach, sending him to the ground.

Ellie and Rochelle didn't hesitate to open fire and I quickly followed suit. She died and we moved to Coach as quick as we could. We all knew the blood would attract unwanted attention.

"We have to move", whispered Rochelle, although she looked hesitant to move him with his wounds bleeding even worse than Ellie's had.

I put one arm around my neck as Rochelle grabbed the other. Ellie who was still injured didn't need to tare her own stitches, so we let her watch our front and back as we went towards the car as quickly as we could.

I could feel the vibrations of another tank coming and moved even faster.

Rochelle scooted into the back seat and I passed Coach to her as I climbed into the passenger seat as Ellie stepped on the gas and busted out the front mall doors made of glass. We didn't spare anything as we drove with a mad speed all the way out to the highway.


	15. Car Ride Realizations

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Car Ride Realizations

***Nick***

I was so tired and with the moon above us shining down like a spot light, it made it hard for me to get any sleep. Behind me I could hear Coach and Rochelle snoozing, figures they would be able to sleep.

After we had got on the road, Rochelle had bandaged Coach up the best she could and with pain medication in him, he had fallen asleep soon after. Rochelle quickly joined him, her face turned away from the light.

I tried to sleep, but not a peep would even come to me. Sighing, I pushed myself up into a sitting position to glance at Ellie. I wondered if I needed to talk to her to keep her awake.  
>I shook my head. I didn't need to worry; she still seemed excited to be driving the legendary car which she now referred to as her 'baby' and 'good boy'.<p>

Since when did cars have a gender? I wondered to myself, but whatever.

I thought it was quite funny really. Aside from that though, she honestly didn't say much, which was rare. Usually she was joking around or singing or going off on one of her 'Keith' stories, as we had all dubbed them.

I wondered who Keith was to her anyways and better yet, where was he?

I just shook my head. Who the heck cared anyways? He was probably dead.

I wondered how Ellie would have handled that if she found out her best friend was dead. He honestly didn't want to see her reaction. She was already sad enough without an added push.

***Elissa***

I glanced at Nick from where I sat in the driver's seat. He was quiet and I could tell he was thinking.

I frowned, wondering about how I felt about Nick. No doubt I had loved Keith, but was this love? With Keith I had always felt warm and good inside when he was around. Was it the same with Nick?

I shook my head mentally, no what I am feeling is different than how it was with Keith. I mean I did feel safe and comfortable around Nick and I did with Keith as well, but this is something more. Sometimes Nick could be a real jerk but at other times… I shivered. I thought back to when he touched me and got goose bumps just thinking about it. Did I want him to touch me again?

I realized I did and it worried me.

Why did I want him to touch me? I wouldn't unless… unless I loved him.

My face I knew had to be blushing cheery as I realized I did love Nick and I was honestly but hesitantly, glad I did.

***Nick***

Beside me I noticed Ellie shiver. I was about to reach out to pat her shoulder and see if she was cold when I noticed her face turn a bright red.

Surprised, I decided to wait and watch her instead. She seemed to be thinking pretty deeply and I didn't want to interrupt her. She looked pretty happy.

I closed my eyes again and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, Ellie is shaking me awake and its bright out.

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out and looked around. Rochelle was helping Coach into the gas station safe room while Ellie was pumping gas into the car using her debit card she had kept in her bag just in case of emergencies such as this.

I wandered inside to the safe room and looked around. It looked like a kitchen with a few booths placed against the wall. The fridge was mostly still stocked which I could tell Rochelle and Coach were happy about and I was even happier when I noticed four cots in the back of the room where we could all sleep for the night.

Ellie came in a few minutes later, a smile on her face as she placed a large honeycomb on the cabinet.

"Found it outside in a tree near the gas pump", she said excitedly, "I used to snag them when I was a kid to get the honey out. It was a piece of cake."

I smirked at her excitement and the happiness I saw fill Coach and Rochelle's faces at the prospect of eating honey.

That night we had a pretty good dinner for once and I felt stuffed as I leaned back in a booth to digest. Coach I noticed went to lie down and Rochelle went to wash up in the bathroom in the back. I noticed Ellie looking at me and I patted the seat next to me.

She smiled and crawled up onto the seat and then onto my lap and leaned against me as I wrapped my arm protectively around her.

She dropped her head against my shoulder and I rubbed her hair as she closed her eyes. No doubt she was exhausted from the long drive here.

When I glanced back at Coach I noticed he was snoring and the door was still closed on Rochelle. Slowly, I inched my way towards her face and kissed her cheek.

She turned to face me and I saw the hesitation clearly written there, but not rejection.

Smiling, I kissed her eyes as she closed them and then kissed her nose and her chin until finally I kissed her lips. I pulled back to see her reaction and her eyes remained closed.

***Elissa***

I wasn't sure what I was feeling as Nick began to kiss up and down my face. He stopped for a moment and I hesitated to open my eyes and see any rejection or disgust there. I was so afraid he was just playing with my feelings. However when I opened my eyes, I saw only the fear in his depths and I smiled. He smiled back in relief and quickly closed his mouth over mine, his tongue sliding against my own as I breathed in his scent and took in his taste. His mouth smelled of smoke but it certainly didn't taste like it.

I felt his hands rub up and down my arms and I used my own hands to turn myself around and rub up his back. He smiled into my mouth and I smiled back. I opened my eyes to watch him as he started his hands up my shirt.

"We need to check your bandages", he said and I could tell he was using this as an excuse; an excuse that I didn't mind in the least bit.

We both stopped when Coach snorted a loud one in his sleep. As though just remembering we were not alone in the room, he stopped and sighed. I sighed to, disappointed we couldn't continue.

At that moment however, Rochelle stepped out of the bathroom.

"Want me to change your bandages Ellie?" she asked me, a smirk of a smile on her face as though she knew what we had just been doing.

I nodded, but Nick's tight grasp against my arm surprised me.

"I will change them", he said and Rochelle only smirked wider as she lay down to sleep.

He and I went into the bathroom and he started where we had left off.

He worked his hands under my shirt and actually did change the bandages, but all the while messing with me by rubbing his fingers up my sides and back.

"These are healing pretty nice", he whispered in my ear, giving me shivers down my neck.

"Uh-huh that's good", I whispered back.

He smiled and breathed against my skin as he leaned in close to put the cream on the healing scars and then licked my belly button area, making me twitch with a ticklish feeling.

He chuckled and took my shirt off completely.

I glanced at him and he shrugged.

"Easier to get at the wounds", he said, but I didn't believe him for a second.

He undid my bra and stared at me, licking his lips in satisfaction. I blushed a deep red and turned away, embarrassed. He turned my head back to him and kissed me on the lips, my chest being pulled against him. He undid his own shirt and felt me against him and he smiled as I blushed even harder.

"Your beautiful you know" he said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"T-thanks", I muttered.

He moved down to fix the bandages that were on my breasts and I nearly moaned in pleasure when I felt his lips kiss my nipple. His tongue glided over it and I finally did moan in satisfaction which made him squeeze it and lick it again.

I started down to the floor and he laughed as I collapsed in his arms where he lowered me down. He removed his shirt completely and began to kiss and bite my neck, leaving marks I knew I would never be able to hide from the others. At the moment though I didn't care and allowed him his play.

I wrapped my arms around him and lightly bit his ear and licked his neck which I was glad to notice made him shiver.

He started towards my pants, but I froze. I wasn't sure if I wanted this yet. What if he was just playing with me? What if he…

He stopped and seemed to understand my hesitation.

"Don't worry Ellie", he replied, "We will take this nice and slow at your pace."

I nodded against his shoulder as he scooped me against him and kissed my neck, hugging me close.


	16. Hidden in the Fog

**Chapter Fifteen:**

Hidden in the Fog

***Elissa***

I couldn't help but smile as I thought over what Nick had said to me yesterday. Part of me felt guilty because it seemed to soon after Keith, but I knew if our positions had been reversed and I was the one who had died, I would have wanted Keith to be happy and for me…Nick made me happy, at least for right now. I could tell that Nick wasn't one for sticking around a place or a person too much, but I hoped with me, here in all of this chaos, it would change. Guess only time will tell if I am right or not.

"You still deep thinking?" he whispered into my ear, sending a chill down my spine as his hot breath tickled my ear.

"Maybe", I whispered back.

We were trying not to wake the others. We had slept overnight at this safe house gas station and were getting ready to leave in about an hour.

Nick pulled me against him, our cots up against each other so we could be side by side. I lay back, feeling his comforting, warm, large hands rubbing up and down my back lulling me to sleep once more.

***Nick***

I must have dozed off again as well, because at first I was trying to get Ellie to sleep for another hour considering she was the one who was going to be driving and then next thing I know, Coach and Rochelle are standing there smiling at us.

I of course kindly sent them my coldest glare which sadly, only earned me bigger smiles. Sighing, I decided not to try to fight it. They both knew about Ellie and I and maybe, I thought to myself, them knowing would make messing with and talking to her easier.

"Ellie", I whispered, noticing she was still asleep.

Outside the window I noticed it was pretty foggy out and rain was pouring down. Not looking forward to the idea of her speeding down the road in the fog and rain, an idea formed in my mind.

"If you don't get up in five seconds, I will drive your car", I whispered.

Dang, if you want to talk about fast, that girl was up off that cot faster than I could blink. She didn't even seem awake but she stumbled off the cot and yelled, "I'm awake!"

I just shook my head. Seriously, the fascination and love she had for that car I don't think even I could compare to.

As we finished a quick breakfast, we left the gas station around seven in the morning. According to Coach who Ellie agreed with, the next closest town was Whispering Oaks which got both Ellie and Coach laughing and talking about past trips to the Carnival there.

"This one time, Keith and I, we went to Whispering Oaks and man oh man, we road that roller coaster over and over again until we…"

"Maybe you should focus on your driving Ellie", I said, trying to hide the jealousy I had each time she mentioned that Keith fella.

"Okay", she said after a moment.

We drove in silence for a while and I noticed she seemed lost in thought again.

"So Ellie", started Rochelle from the back. It seems she could feel the tension, "What happened to Keith?"

Ellie was silent for what I had to argue was the first time in a long time. I mean when she was deep in thought she was silent, but it was like you could hear her thoughts turning as she walked or drove.

But this…

This silence was almost lethal. It was like everything was frozen and Ellie was the only one who could break the spell.

***Elissa***

I didn't want to tell them about Keith. It's not that I minded talking about him, but to actually tell them about that horrible day at the hospital. I just didn't think I could do it. I glanced at Nick and could tell he was watching me, waiting for me to answer.

"Keith is dead; he died at Hope Hospital."

Silence bombarded me. I thought for sure I would get a lot of comments when I told them, but no one made a noise for at least a good few minutes which had me a little nervous.

I glanced at Nick and saw him looking out his side window, his face hidden from me so I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. Behind me in the rear view mirror, I saw the shock written on Rochelle and Coach's faces.

"I am so, so sorry for asking that", Rochelle finally said.

I just shook my head.

"It happened the day before I met up with you guys on the roof. Keith was sick and…" I couldn't stop myself as the story poured out of me. I felt the urge to tell someone about Keith, someone who would sympathize with me and understand me and mostly, someone who would mourn his loss with me.

"We took him to the hospital after he collapsed at the Garage, but the doctors said they could do nothing for him."

I reached up and touched my hat, the hat Keith had given me right before his death.

"This hat", I said after a moment, "Was his. He gave it to me in his final moments in the hospital. Shortly after that, I went home with Keith's little sister Emily and spent the night at my mama's house. When I awoke the following morning, I saw you on the TV Rochelle telling us to get out. I woke Emily and went to wake my mama, but she…"

I struggled to reign in my emotions and I could see the shock and pain on the faces of my companions as I finally spilled my own back story. I felt Nick's hand on my leg rubbing soothing circles, but when I glanced at him, he was still facing out his side window.

"I ended up having to k-kill her and after that, it is pretty much like your own stories. Emily and I met up with Dave and Becky and went to the roof top."

"But only you were on the roof top", said Rochelle after a moment, "so what happened to…"

"They got on the helicopter. There were only two helicopters available and both were almost full and I didn't dare separate Dave and Becky. After Keith having died, I just couldn't handle the idea of lovers being separated. Emily of course is like a little sister to me and so I sent her with them. I had just sent them off when you guys showed up."

"That explains a lot", said Coach shaking his head.

"Yeah", muttered Rochelle.

Coach groaned in pain.

"Here let me change your bandages. I should have done it at the gas station, guess I forgot, sorry."

Coach just smiled and shook his head. Rochelle smiled and began to work on him as he tried hard not to make a sound.

I smiled watching them in the rear view mirror, but then my smile slipped as I noticed Nick had taken his hand away and had both of them stuck down in his pockets.

"Did my story make him angry?" I wondered.

***Nick***

As Ellie started talking, everything about the hospital rushed back to me. Being in that observation room, having passed a group of young people who had been talking to the doctor, crying, and then stumbling into that woman's grief as one of those mindless freaks chased me.

I had never connected the dots that Ellie and that woman were one in the same. Now though…it all seemed so clear. I remember noticing the girls light brown curls pulled back in a ponytail that day at the hospital and then staring into angry, clouded blue eyes. At the time though I had been in such a state of panic, I hadn't noticed her beautiful features like I do now.

I shook my head trying to get it clear.

I had left her there at that hospital room to be killed by…

I glanced over at her and saw how white her knuckles were as she paused in her story. Her face showed her grief and pain and I stretched my hand out to rub her leg, trying to soothe her.

That had to of been Keith I noticed behind her when I saw someone getting up from that hospital bed. It all made so much sense to me now and I was both angry at myself and her for that night.

I shouldn't have left her there but then again, she should have given me a chance to explain myself before practically threatening me for being in there.

I must have spaced I realized, because I felt a hand on my arm and looked up into her concerned face. Noticing I had withdrawn my hands and placed them in my pockets, I quickly tried to smile reassuringly at her to show I was okay before sitting up in my chair a little. It seems she doesn't know it was me that had busted into her room that night. I was honestly almost afraid to mention it either.

"Just tired", I finally said when she kept giving me that same concerned gaze again and again.

She nodded. "Go to sleep then."

And for once, I did just as someone told me to.

***Elissa***

I was almost relieved when he said he was tired. He looked kind of pale and I didn't want him getting sick out here in this God forsaken place. Behind me I noticed Rochelle and Coach had fallen into a silent conversation between themselves and I could tell from their faces that it was a flirty one.

I had always suspected something was between the two of them, but I couldn't have been sure. Coach had told me once he had divorced several years ago after him and his wife's only child, their son, was killed in a bicycling accident. Rochelle also stated she had been engaged at one time but it had just never worked out.

I suppose most people would frown at the idea of the 44 year old Coach and the 28 year old Rochelle getting together, but I thought it was kind of cute, at least for them.

"Then again", I muttered glancing at Nick who was sleeping soundly beside me; it wasn't exactly like I could say anything when I had my own lover who was a lot older than me and in a place like this, a world ravaged by zombies, I wasn't one to argue at how twisted fate could be.

Thinking about ages made me realize that next month was my 21st birthday. What a way to spend it, I thought, thinking about being on the run from zombies everywhere we go.

Then again, if Nick, Rochelle, and Coach are with me…I guess it's not too bad, I smiled.

Beside me Nick groaned in his sleep and curled in on himself. He looked pretty cute sleeping like that I noticed, my cheeks no doubt going red just thinking about it.

Nick is 35, which made him fourteen, almost fifteen years older than me. Keith had been only a couple years older than me and while I probably should feel weird about dating an older man, I really wasn't uncomfortable with it. I guess when you love someone; age doesn't matter as much as just being with that person.

But what would Keith say? I wondered to myself.

That same thought just had to keep coming back to taunt me.

I shook my head; this wasn't the time to think about these things.

The drive was going really peaceful. It was getting a little difficult to see out on the road though as the fog and rain seemed to get thicker and stronger. I knew we had to be close to Whispering Oaks though, so I wanted to keep driving until we reached the town at least.

Behind me, I noticed Rochelle sitting up, a worried expression on her face that got me looking around carefully as I inched the car forward looking for any sign of danger.

"I heard something", she whispered.

I was going to tell her I hadn't heard anything and that she might have been dreaming, but then I did hear it and it made me extremely nervous. A rumble like thunder that seemed to shake the entire ground beneath the car was taking place and I knew exactly what it belonged to.

Sure enough, covered by the fog and rain that we had been driving in, a Tank stood right before the bridge of Whispering Oaks. I was just turning off my headlights when the Tank spotted us.

I slammed on the breaks and backed up as quickly as I could. I noticed Coach sitting up now and I glanced over and saw Nick also waking up, a scowl on his face. He seemed to be about to ask a question about my driving methods no doubt, when he noticed the tank now barreling at us.

"Hit the gas Ellie! We have to get past him!"

I really, really wanted to say 'No Crap Sherlock', but I figured antagonizing him wouldn't be in my best interest.

***Nick***

I watched as Ellie drove like a freaking race car driver. She made some pretty impressive turns and angles as she tried to get around the Tank, but it just kept coming.

I sucked in a breath when I saw a large piece of concrete come at us, barely having missed us as it slammed into the ground where we had been just seconds ago.

Ellie was concentrating really hard when all at once the Tank let out a roar like I had never heard before and started running at us.

Did Tanks charge like bulls before? Because I was pretty sure I had never seen one do an action like this. Then again, it wasn't every day we were being chased by a Tank while in a sports car driving in circles trying to dodge crap it kept throwing at us.

"Ellie…Ellie dodge!" I screamed as the Tank ran at us like a charger, but if I admitted it, there was nowhere she could have gone to dodge. The Tank rammed into the car and it flipped us over and over and over again down a large hill that had been to our right.

I had noticed it before and thought about telling her to go over it so we could escape the tank, but I knew it was probably too steep to risk it.

Now that we were going over it with a Tank as our rocket boost though, I kind of wished we had just decided to go over ourselves, without the Tanks help.

Those honestly were my last thoughts when I smacked my head across the side glass window and blackness overtook me.


	17. Dreams and Reality

**Chapter Sixteen:**

Dreams and Reality

***Elissa***

"Ellie?" a voice asked me, "Ellie are you going to sleep forever?"

I opened my eyes to see Keith smiling down at me from above my bed.

"Hey baby", I said with a smile.

I wrapped my arms around him and then pulled him down on top of me.

He laughed and kissed my lips, his hand gently caressing my cheek.

"I was so worried about you", he said, a frown coming onto his face.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"You were about to die Ellie", he said, his frown even more defined.

I shook my head.

"No Keith, I was just sleeping, you are the one who…"

Keith shook his head.

"It was all a dream Ellie; you're the one who got bit by that infected. Doctors told me you were going to die."

"But…"

"Oh baby, I am just so glad you are alright."

I smiled and hugged him close to me.

"Whether a dream or not, Keith, don't leave me again", I cried.

He nodded into my shoulder and stroked my hair.

"I won't ever leave you again baby."

I smiled.

Keith was here and I was so happy.

***Nick***

Upon waking, the first thing I registered was how bad my flipping head hurt. The pain was immense but manageable as I opened my eyes to look around. My side window was busted out, along with the windshield.

Turning my neck carefully to look at the others who had been with me, I almost panicked when I didn't see Ellie. Glancing back at the backseat, Rochelle and Coach were both unconscious. Or at least I hoped they were unconscious.

"Coach, Rochelle", I whispered.

The words sounded loud to me even though I knew they were mere whispers on the wind, especially with it still pouring down rain.

"C-coach", I said louder, getting a little nervous about the fact they hadn't moved, "Rochelle."

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Rochelle moaned and opened her eyes.

"N-nick?" she asked confused.

I nodded.

"How is Coach?"

She glanced around and I saw the recognition come into her eyes as she no doubt remembered what had happened. Looking to Coach she quickly felt for a pulse and then rested her head against his arm.

"He's alive, just unconscious."

I nodded slowly, trying not to jar my head.

"I'm going to go find Ellie", I whispered.

She nodded and looked around, fear coming into her eyes.

I ignored her fear and stumbled out of the car to look for my girl.

***Elissa***

Keith and I sat down at the table where my mama had breakfast all laid out and ready for us. Stacks of pancakes and sausage greeted us and I felt a since of Déjà vu. Hadn't this happened before?

Ignoring the nagging thought in the back of my mind, I learned over to where Keith was watching the news on the TV and laid my head on his shoulder.

He smiled and kissed my forehead as he and I watched a very familiar woman tell us about different events going on throughout Georgia.

Did I know her from somewhere?

It seemed like the name was right there at the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't remember.

Hmmm, I wondered, oh well, I bet Keith knows.

"Do you know her name" I asked.

He glanced at me and then the lady on the television and shook his head.

"Nah, she is a new reporter for Channel 14, never heard her name though."

"Oh, well that's too bad. I thought she seemed…familiar."

Keith just laughed.

"If you know a news reporter, please introduce me Ellie. I could tell her a whole bunch of stories."

I started laughing, he was always so crazy. I doubted anyone else but us would want to hear our stories.

It felt so nice to just be laying here on Keith's lap. It felt so good and yet…I couldn't quite place it but it felt wrong as well. I was missing something and I just couldn't quite remember what it was. Trying to force myself to remember, a deep pain settled into my stomach and I nearly cried out when it increased.

As though feeling the pain I felt, Keith doubled over on the ground beside me and looked at me in fear.

"Don't go Ellie! Please!"

"I'm not trying to Keith, I promise", I said, but the pain was getting worse and my sight was going hazy.

***Nick***

I had stumbled out of the car and noticed blood on top of the cars' hood, no doubt from where Ellie must have flipped out at. Fearful at the amount of blood, I tried to ignore the sharp pain in my leg as I limped around to the front of the car.

I didn't see her at first, the fog and rain still pretty heavy, but then I noticed a red shirt peeking out from behind the large oak tree a few feet ahead of me.

"Ellie!" I yelled rushing to her.

I dropped to the ground, careful of my leg, as I hesitated to even touch her. A deep gash was across her forehead and her stomach was drenched in blood. Lifting her shirt up a bit, I nearly gagged when I saw the four inch deep gash across her stomach, crossing the already healing wounds that were a tender pink.

It would need stitches no doubt, as would her head wound which was bleeding heavily as well. With the rain coming down, I was fearful at how much blood she had to have lost, considering the amount of blood still on her that hadn't been washed away.

Noticing her backpack just a couple feet to the side of her, I grabbed it and found her old yellow shirt. I ripped it into several strips and tied the biggest one around her head trying to stem the flow of blood. With the rest, I pressed down on the stomach wound, trying my best to get it to slow down.

"Rochelle", I yelled, "help me, please!"

Rochelle and Coach emerged moments later. Coach seemed a bit shaky on his feet but Rochelle was prepared as she brought her med kit with her over to where we sat beneath the tree.

"Please Ellie", I begged, "Don't quit fighting. Please, come back to me. Ellie!"

***Elissa***

"Ellie!"

That voice. It wasn't Keith's voice, but it seemed very, very familiar. I knew I should recognize it. I could hear it saying words to me, even louder than Keith had been talking earlier.

"Ellie", the familiar voice pleaded, "Please come back to me. Please Ellie, please don't die."

"Die?" I muttered aloud, "I won't die."

"You're about to", said Keith who was squatting beside me on his hind legs. He rocked back and forth as though in deep thought. His hands resting on his blue and white cap he always wore no matter where he went.

"Ellie, I want you to be with me", he said with a deep sadness that I didn't understand, "but I am being selfish. There is someone who needs you more right now. So go to him and when your time comes, I will be here to greet you, but until then my lovely Elissa", he said with a smile and a loving embrace, "Go to him."

He kissed me on the lips and the next thing I knew, I was coughing and hacking and I had never felt such pain before. Everything was dark but I could feel hands pressing down on me and one voice that shined through in particular anchoring me to what I could only figure to be reality.

"Nick", I whispered.

***Nick***

When Ellie whispered my name, I about had a heart attack. I was so relieved that she was awake I could have kissed anybody right then, but I knew there was only one person who I wanted to kiss right now and that was the lovely creature I was holding onto so desperately.

"Ellie", I cried, resting my head on her leg, "You came back."

A gentle hand lifted my chin and I noticed she was fully conscious now. She wiped at the tears that I didn't know I even had streaming down my face and then she grabbed my hand.

"I love you Nick", she said and smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back and breathe a sigh of relief. I knew she was going to be okay.

"We need to get her somewhere she can rest and heal properly", said Rochelle.

"For now let's try finding a shelter of some kind", said Coach, "Come on Rochelle, I think Nick here will keep an eye on her just fine."

Rochelle smirked a little and squeezed Ellie's hand in tender affection before heading out after Coach to look for somewhere we could stay.

"Nick", Ellie whispered, drawing my gaze back down to her.

"Yeah baby", I asked.

"Do you believe in the afterlife?' she asked after a moment of hesitation.

I hesitated to answer but I remembered when I was a kid and my mother always took me to church. They use to talk about heaven and hell. I had never thought about it before, but Heaven compared to this here on Earth which I had to assume was Hell, sounded pretty dang good.

"I don't know", I finally said, "but I would like it if Heaven exists."

Ellie nodded and then spoke up.

"I think it does."

I smiled.

"Then no doubt it does", I said.

After all, who better to know about heaven existing, then this angel right here?

She smiled as though reading my thoughts and I realized I had accidentally said them out loud. I blushed, but she reached up and gently rubbed my cheek as I nuzzled it into her hand, enjoying feeling her warmth and knowing she was alive and going to get better.

"Don't ever leave me Nick", she whispered after a moment of silence, "Please."

I didn't know where this came from, but I shook my head and clutched her hand.

"Never baby, you are mine."

She smiled and flushed a deep crimson red across her pale face and I smiled as I leaned down and kissed her lips. I pulled back to look into her beautiful blue eyes and seeing the longing there, I continued to kiss her long into the later hours as we waited for Rochelle and Coach to get back with word of shelter.


	18. Trust, Love and Forgiveness

**Chapter Seventeen:**

Trust, Love, and Forgiveness

***Nick***

I watched her as she slept on the bed we had placed her in several nights ago. She hadn't woke up since we had found shelter, but Rochelle said nothing was wrong, just Ellie needed to sleep in order to get over the fever that had raged through her body in order for her to get stronger.

I knew she needed her sleep, but I wanted so desperately for her to wake up so I could know for a fact that she would be alright.

After I had kissed her in the pouring rain under that miserable tree, she had fallen unconscious. I had been nearly in a panic by the time Rochelle and Coach got back to us telling me of shelter about twenty minutes out.

I had carried Ellie bridal style as I followed them, my leg aching the entire way. Coach had offered to carry her for a while, but I had refused. I know it seems selfish and cowardly, but I felt if I gave her up and couldn't feel her against me, she would die without me knowing it.

Coach seemed to understand though and he didn't ask me again. He did help me lay her down though on the bed when we arrived at the old abandoned house in the woods.

If I wasn't so desperately tired and worried about her, I probably would have even called the house spooky and been concerned about staying in it, but I had worse problems right now. I was just relieved they had even found somewhere to take Ellie this far out.

It wasn't a safe room, so we all knew we would have to take turns watching for any sign of the infected, but I was more than willing to if it meant Ellie being able to rest and heal.

"Whispering Oaks should only be a few miles from here", said Coach, "We had been pretty close when that Tank had hit us off the road."

"Man Ellie will flip when she realizes her car is totaled", I said all at once remembering the car that was now a junk pile at the bottom of the steep hill.

"At least she still has her life and we have ours", said Rochelle, "I am sure she will understand."

I just laughed. I was still curious about how she was going to react but for now, what Rochelle said was true and I was just glad we all were here together, alive and safe for the time being.

***Ellie***

When I awoke, I didn't know where I was at first. My head hurt like crazy and my stomach felt like it was on fire, but neither felt as bad as I remembered them hurting in the woods. My cheeks became a dark shade of crimson when I thought about Nick. I had told him I loved him.

To say I was on cloud nine didn't even begin to cover it, but then my thoughts turned to Keith. Was that a dream I had? Or was it really Keith telling me not to be sad about him anymore and to move on with my life with Nick?

I didn't know, but I wasn't going to dwell on it. Keith was dead and Nick was alive and I knew better than to cry over spilt milk, so to speak. It felt harsh thinking about it like that, but I knew if I didn't give Nick all my love now and something happened to him like something had happened to Keith, I would die from regret and guilt.

With Keith I am hurting over not having had enough time with him but I couldn't imagine letting the new love of my life, Nick, die without me showing him how I really feel. I just don't think I would be able to live with myself.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening to my dimly lit room. Not ready to quite face anyone yet as thoughts warred with each other in my head, I closed my eyes and just listened. The footsteps were soft; obviously whoever had entered was trying to be quiet so as not to wake me or possibly anyone else that might be sleeping.

"Ellie", whispered a voice.

Rochelle. I was slightly disappointed it wasn't Nick but I figured he was probably pretty tired and was sleeping. Turning onto my back, I opened my eyes and smiled.

"Hey Ro"

She smiled at seeing I was awake and carefully hugged me, being fully aware of my injures. I knew she didn't want to hug me too hard with the risk of injuring me further.

"You had us so worried girl", she said with a frown, "I thought Nick was going to explode the first couple days you were struggling to live."

"How long have I been out?" I asked, surprised she had said days rather than hours.

"About six days Ellie, it was really touch and go girl", she conceded, "We were all pretty sure you weren't going to pull through and then all at once, you turned a corner and your breathing got better and the fever broke."

"Wow, I felt like I had only been out for a few hours", I admitted, honestly shocked at the length of time in which I had been unconscious.

She smiled and brushed some hair out of my eyes.

"None of that matters now", she said. I could see the relief in her eyes at my being awake and I smiled, trying to comfort her.

"I'm okay Rochelle, thank you for taking care of me."

"Oh I didn't hardly do anything baby girl", she said with a sigh, "I did your initial first aid, but after that, Nick was really the one to take care of you."

"Where is Nick anyways?" I asked curiously.

"Sleeping, the poor guy was exhausted. We had to force him out of your room a few hours ago. He was sleeping sitting up and so we made him go lay down for a while. I am sure he will love the fact we made him do that when you awake only three hours later."

She and I laughed at the thought. No doubt, he would throw a fit because of not being at my side upon awaking.

"Let him sleep", I finally said, "I am pretty tired. When he comes back in later, I will act like I am just now waking up."

She laughed. "I think that will make his day."

Sure enough, it was only a short time later that I woke to a chair scooting across the floor. Opening my eye a fraction, I noticed Nick, looking pretty half asleep still, was getting himself comfortable in a stiff wooden chair he was pulling up to my side. He groaned quietly as he sat down in it and then put his feet on the end of my bed. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand towards my face and I quickly closed my eyes. I felt his warm hand caress my cheek.

"Please", he whispered, such a deep sadness in his voice that nearly broke my heart, "Wake up Ellie."

I decided now would be the perfect time to grant him his wish. I waited a couple more moments till I noticed he was staring at the ceiling before quietly and slowly stretching my hand out towards his that rested in his lap.

As soon as my hand touched his, his head snapped down and his mouth gaped for a moment before realization broke him out of his stupor and he fell to the floor beside me, his eyes wide in shock and his mouth slowly becoming a gentle smile.

"Ellie", he whispered, as though just saying my name made this more than a dream.

He looked at me as though I would vanish at any moment and his grip on my hand hurt, though I didn't say anything about it. I knew how badly I had scared him and I felt a little guilt at having caused such a temperamental and strong man like him to look so tired and defeated.

"Nick", I whispered back and smiled.

His face lit up and before I even had time to say anything else, his mouth captured mine in an intimate yet gentle kiss.

"I was so scared", he whispered as his forehead met mine, "I thought you…"

He stopped and I could hear the fear and grief in his voice. Quickly I ran my hands through his hair and pulled his head back so I could see into his eyes.

"I'm right here Nick and I am not going anywhere, I promise."

He laughed and kissed me on the mouth again, a quick peck as he smiled into my lips, "I will hold you to that."

He and I laughed and neither of us noticed in the background, Coach and Rochelle smiling with relief.


	19. Whispering Oaks

**Chapter Eighteen:**

Whispering Oaks

***Nick***

It took Ellie a couple more days before she could walk around without help. She still tired pretty easily, but with pain medication, she was confidant she could make it until we found the next safe room.

That being said, we started out a week and a half after the accident had occurred. Coach lead the way as he knew from the beginning which roads to take to get to whispering oaks, a place he had been to several times in his childhood.

Behind him was Ellie who I was helping up the hill to get back onto the main road. She wasn't very happy about the car when she saw it again after the accident, but after we told her we were lucky just to escape with our lives, she hadn't really said anything about the car since. No doubt she agreed with what we had said and felt it would be a waste of time to cry over something she couldn't change now anyways.

Behind us was Rochelle who I think was keeping an eye on both Ellie and me. Ever since Ellie had almost died, she had been looking at me as though I was a fragile class creature.

I told Ellie about it and she just laughed. I didn't laugh; I didn't think it was funny. If Rochelle wanted me to prove I was still Nick the gambler, get me a deck of cards or let's have a go with a first fight, I thought to myself. Ellie didn't seem in agreement with that. She told me I was being childish and that Rochelle was just worried. Women I swear, I thought to myself with a scowl, always nagging me about something.

Then again…I glanced at Ellie. I didn't mind so much if she nagged me.

As if reading my thoughts, she grabbed my hand and leaned in closer to me, a smile on her face as usual. I smiled back and noticed Coach smirking our way. I just rolled my eyes and ignored him, but I couldn't help the small smile that widened when I saw him snicker.

Welcome To Whispering Oaks.

The sign on the billboard greeted us as we made our way past the motel to our right. In the distance we could see a large Ferris wheel and two large spotlights from the stadium.

"Oh man", yelled Ellie with excitement as we entered the Carnival area. "Kiddie Land!"

I laughed and so did the others. It was so like Ellie to be excited over something so young.

"Can we ride a ride? Please!" she begged.

"It would attract everything to our location baby girl" said Coach, I was glad I didn't have to be the bearer of bad news when I saw her sad look.

"Hey look!" yelled Coach all at once, "Cotton Candy bar!"

Ellie got a huge shocked look on her face and Rochelle and I watched in amusement as they rushed towards it, their weapons bumping along their backs as they skidded to a halt like two dogs about to get a treat.

"Does it still work?" I heard Ellie ask.

"I don't know baby girl", he said as he looked around the stand.

A few moments later we saw the stand brighten, red and pink lights shining, lighting up their faces.

"Yes!" they both cheered as I smirked. I noticed Rochelle smirking to.

Quickly they grabbed a bag of instant cotton candy and poured it into the large clear box. I watched as Coach twisted the knob on the side and air began to pour through. A large cobweb of stringy colors began to come together until a large glob was manifested in the middle. Happy, they turned the machine and lights off again and grabbed the glob out, tearing it into four sections of pink and blue goodness.

Ellie laughed and taking two pieces came running towards me, her hand outstretched with one of the sections in offering.

I smiled and took it, taking a small attentive bite after I watched the others do the same, a look of pure delight upon their faces.

"This is sooooo good", Ellie moaned with delight. My stomach did a flip at the look on her face. Trying not to let her notice my blush, I turned to look at Coach and Rochelle. Coach was almost done with his, go figure. Rochelle on the other hand seemed to be taking her time, slowly cherishing every bite. I noticed Ellie doing the same, her mouth in a large smile as she felt it melt on her tongue, savoring the flavor and feel of having something like cotton candy again.

I just laughed and began to eat mine.

***Ellie***

I was so glad when I saw Nick enjoying his cotton candy. I didn't know if he liked the treat or not, but I figured anything was better than the scraps and cans of stuff we had been eating lately. Obviously the others agreed with that thought because they all seemed to be letting it melt in their mouth, except Coach I noticed who was looking longingly at Rochelle's, who was glaring back at him. I laughed and then they started laughing to.

It felt so good just to laugh. It pulled at my stitches a bit on my stomach, but I didn't care, laughing felt amazing after so much time just sleeping and crying. I always try to have a positive outlook, but let me tell you, it gets hard sometimes and this…this was what I needed to just feel alive again.

After we had finished our sticky colorful treat, we continued towards the roller coaster, the whispering oak. I wanted to ride it so badly, but Nick said that it probably didn't even work anymore. I hoped he was wrong; I really, really wanted to ride it.

"You think it works still?" I heard Rochelle ask Coach.

"I don't know, but I guess if it does we could ride it. No harm in it so long as we get off at the stop."

Excited about the prospect, we practically ran towards the roller coaster. Zombies of course littered the field, but we took them out one at a time, occasionally throwing a pipe bomb or a Molotov.

"Okay guys get in and I will start it", I said with a smile.

None of us knew for sure if it would start or not, but I sure was hoping it would.

Nick jumped in the front, his machine gun at the ready. He left the handle bar open so I could hop in when I hit the start button. Rochelle and Coach got in the cart behind him.

"Ready baby girl?" I heard coach ask.

I nodded. Slamming down the button, I took off and jumped in the first cart with Nick, just in time. The handle came down and I quickly held on with a large smile and my rifle primed and ready as the ride started up. It took off up the wood track and I screamed and laughed the whole time as I picked zombies off that were running towards us.

A horde was running to catch up with us, but I wasn't too worried. They were really slow compared to the whispering oak.

Beside me, Nick had a death grip on the handle bar. His eyes were closed and he was breathing in and out really slowly.

I laughed, realizing he was frightened. The man didn't blink in the face of a tank, but on a roller coaster, he looked ready to wet his pants.

Behind me, I heard Coach laughing and screaming along with me and buried in his side, her arms wrapped firmly around him as she to screamed and laughed, was Rochelle who looked more content then I had ever seen her before.

She smiled at me when she noticed I was looking and I sent thumbs up back at her. I pointed at Nick and she burst out laughing till she had tears running down her cheeks. Coach was oblivious to it all as he screamed and held his arms up, enjoying the ride till the very end.

When the ride came to a halt, Rochelle jumped out and slammed the off button as Coach climbed out after her. I started to help Nick out but he shoved me away as I grimaced when he began to upchuck everything he had eaten, including the not so colorful cotton candy.

Rochelle just smirked and I had to admit, it was a little funny. Nick just glared at all of us as he walked by with his head held high into the safe room, not saying a word. I just shook my head and walked into the small safe room after him, the other two, still laughing, followed behind.


	20. Tunnel of Love

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Tunnel of Love

***Ellie***

Nick was still pretty mad at us for laughing at him earlier, but I just kissed his neck when he had turned his head away from me and he seemed to lighten up a little, at least to me. I still thought it was funny the glares he sent towards Coach and Rochelle, which only made them laugh all that much harder.

"Tunnel of Love", said Rochelle with a smile as she looked out the door we would soon be departing from, "I can't believe we have to go through this to get to the entrance of the Stadium."

Coach agreed as he sat down on one of the cots, "I'm going to sleep for a bit, wake me when you all are ready to go."

"I think I could use a nap to", said Rochelle as she pulled another cot up to Coaches side and laid down, her arms wrapping around him as he turned and pulled her close, his head laying against hers, both smiling with contentment.

I smiled in turn at the scene and looked to Nick who just frowned and opened the safe room door, going out into the beginning of the tunnel where I noticed him lean against the wall and pull out a cigarette.

Grabbing my gun just in case, I walked out after him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He didn't say anything as I sat down beside him.

He continued to smoke, only giving to me the smallest of glances.

"You're not still mad about that roller coaster are you?" I asked, though not fully surprised.

He didn't say anything again as he let out a stream of smoke through his nose.

"Ah come on babe, I was only joking", I said leaning against him, "it was sort of funny."

He glared at me and shuffled to the left a bit away from me. I frowned.

"What the heck Nick", I said, a little bit of anger slipping into my words, "Why are you acting so cold. We were only playing."

"Well maybe I wasn't", he said after a moment of silence.

I would have said more to his response, but it was probably for the best that we were interrupted by a growl coming from the back of a throat.

Immediately he and I jumped up as we looked around for the hunter.

Coach and Rochelle having heard it, joined us outside the door, their guns at the ready and just in the nick of time to, as the thing pounced at us from out of nowhere. Its long sharp nails ready to rip Nick and I a new one as Coach landed a head shot with great precision.

"Nice Shot Coach", I cheered.

He smiled and sent me a wink as he lowered his gun.

"We should probably go ahead and keep moving" said Rochelle as she gathered up her stuff. I nodded and quickly went to grab mine, the others following our lead.

***Nick***

I wasn't really mad at Ellie per say, but how could she just laugh at me? I knew I was acting like a little kid by pouting and being mean to them because of it, but I couldn't help it. I was in a bad mood, I was hungry, the sugar only seemed to make me more hungry and what little I did have in my stomach I ended up puking back up. Not to mention I was tired and cold, the air holding a damp chill from the week of rain that had come through the area. My once pure white jacket and new leather shoes now looked gray with all the dust and scuff marks it had on them. Altogether about $6,000 down the drain I estimated.

Ellie seemed a little peeved I had snapped at her, but I wasn't in the mood to apologize. Not to say I wasn't worried about her, she looked pretty pale and I didn't doubt she was still in a bit of pain from her injuries but I just am not in the mood to act all mushy.

Rochelle who was walking next to Ellie sent a small glare my way and I knew Ellie had told her about our little squabble. I just ignored Rochelle's opinion as a whole as I glanced at Coach instead who was still leading the way.

He glanced back at me and noticed I was looking at him. He tipped his head a little, giving me an offer to come up front and join him. Quickly, moving past Rochelle who glared at me again and Ellie who didn't even look at me, I stepped up beside him.

"You did it again Nick", he said with a sigh.

I didn't say anything back as I could feel his stare looking at me in wait of a response. When I didn't respond, he sighed and kept walking, chatting mostly to himself, but I was listening. The final thing he said to himself in a whisper made me think a lot about myself since meeting them all.

"The boy just doesn't learn does he." he had said in a half whisper to himself.

Honestly, I thought I had changed a lot and had learned to be more open. Before at the casino, had I met these people I would have left them without another thought. Ellie and Rochelle I would have probably tried to pick up and sleep with and then most likely, I would have just dumped them and continued on through my life without a look back, but now…after all this zombie crap and being about to die, I honestly couldn't help but admit I wanted something stable in my life.

I glanced back at the girls, my gaze lingering on Ellie.

I didn't want just anything stable; I admitted to myself, I wanted Ellie to be stable in my life. I wanted her love and I wanted her support through everything.

I sighed though as these thoughts rushed through my mind. I couldn't just tell her that though. I wasn't good with emotions and words. I tried to show her through actions but I think she thought I was just messing with her.

Glancing back at her one more time I noticed her look up and lock gazes with me. She sent a small smile my way and while I wanted so badly to smile back, I just was too frightened of losing her, so I frowned instead and she turned her face away from me, the hurt evident in her eyes. I felt like the biggest fool right then.

***Ellie***

I smiled at Nick when I noticed him looking at me. When he frowned though, I couldn't hide the hurt that I knew was showing, so I turned away, trying halfheartedly to conceal it. I knew it didn't work when I saw the guilt in his face as he turned back around to continue walking beside Coach who was talking to himself I think, but at the moment, I didn't really care.

Rochelle grabbed my hand and slipped me a small smile which I tried to return, but I just couldn't seem to do it and so she quickly wrapped an arm around my waist as she pulled me to her and whispered.

"It will be ok Ellie; he just needs some time to cool down"

I nodded, hoping she was right.

As we drew closer to the opening in the tunnel of love that lead into an office that would lead us to the safe room inside the stadium, I glanced back up at Nick but he wasn't looking at me anymore. Instead, he had stopped and was listening to something. I stopped also along with the others as we all widened our eyes upon hearing the familiar rumble of a tank.

"Where is it!" yelled Rochelle as it came closer.

We began panicking, all coming into a tight circle, and our backs to one another as we looked for a sign of where the Tank was coming from. Not a glimpse of pink was seen however and we all sighed with relief when the rumbling passed.

I should have known then when we started laughing with relief that we were never this lucky. The tank busted through the roof above us and dropped down in the middle of where we were. His arm came back and swiped at me. I felt the breath leave my body as I felt myself slammed back through the window of the office we had been in out onto the hard concrete outside.

Trying to sit up, pain flooded my stomach area but I pushed past it as I grabbed my shot of adrenaline and shot it into my thigh.

Grabbing my gun, I no longer felt the pain even though I knew it was there, as I rushed back to the window. I aimed at the tank as I watched it knock my friends around. Nick was slammed into the ground repeatedly until I saw Coach stab a knife into its back.

Swinging, the tank knocked Coach down into the shelf of books where he laid unmoving. Rochelle was still firing on it, I along with her as it looked from me to her. It chose and rushed at Rochelle. Ro tried to run but it knocked her off her feet and grabbed her, throwing her through the window right at me. I ducked when she came flying past me onto the ground.

I didn't stop to check on her though as I continued firing on the tank until finally, it fell to the ground dead.

Behind me, I heard her moan as she stood up shakily, blood running down her left arm from a large gash. Other than the gash though she seemed alright, but I didn't wait to check on her further as I rushed to Nick.

His eyes were closed and his head was slightly bleeding. I put my head to his chest and listened. I opened my eyes wide when I didn't hear a heartbeat. Quickly starting chest compressions, I counted and then blew into his mouth again and again.

Behind me I noticed Coach being helped up by Rochelle, both worriedly looking at me and Nick as they stumbled closer.

Beneath me Nick began to breathe on his own again, his body taking a deep intake of air as he began to cough and sit up. His eyes opened and he looked at me and then the others all staring at him. I could see he was embarrassed and quickly he pushed me away.

"I'm fine", he said as he stumbled past us.

I sighed in relief. I didn't care if he did reject me right then, I was just glad he was alive. Behind me I heard Rochelle and Coach angrily yelling at him for his harshness, but I ignored it as I felt the tears slip down my cheeks. I wasn't mad at him; I was just so relieved he was okay.

I stood up and moved past them, not glancing at him as I moved. I knew he wouldn't appreciate me crying for him, so I decided not to linger on the fact as I moved down the alley towards the large red double doors where our next safe room was located.


	21. Concert of the Dead

**Chapter Twenty:**

Concert of the Dead

***Nick***

I was a jerk, an ass, a loser, a conceited arrogant son of a… all of these things floated through my mind as I watched her walk by me, tears rolling down her cheeks. Beside me I saw both Coach and Rochelle glare at me and walk by with a huff.

I ignored them as I followed after Ellie, my head buzzing with light headedness and pain from the crash into the floor it had received. I noticed Coach limping and the large stream of blood running from Rochelle's arm.

Looking past them I noticed Ellie limping also, her skin was pale and sweaty and I noticed her swaying as well. I was about to mention this to Rochelle when all at once Ellie's legs gave way. I dived forward out of instinct and caught her as she fell, the other two stopping in surprise. I looked down at Ellie's face, it was deathly white and I grimaced upon seeing the large bruise on her jaw and the fresh blood shining through her shirt.

"She needs to rest and get her bandages changed", Rochelle said as she knelt beside her and lifted up her shirt. The sight made me flinch; it looked pretty sore and slightly infected.

I carried her through the alley to the double doors and laid her down on a cot before I walked over to another cot and laid down on it, my senses dead to the world as I closed my eyes leaving Rochelle to handle patching Ellie up.

***Ellie***

I woke to warm hands gently rubbing sweat covered hair out of my face as a damp cloth was applied to my hot skin. It felt so good and I smiled imagining Nick doing it to me, but when I opened my eyes about to greet him, I frowned noticing it was Coach.

"Hey baby girl", he said with a gentle smile.

I smiled back but I obviously didn't hide my disappointment as he sighed.

"Nicks sleeping, I think he has a minor concussion."

I nodded as he smiled again, "you have a little bit of a fever from the infected wounds, but Rochelle said only one is really infected so she applied some more antibiotic cream to it and gave you some pain medication to take when you were a little out of it. You already are much cooler then you were."

"Thanks coach", I whispered.

He smiled, "Anytime Ellie girl", he said with a smile as he placed the damp cloth on my head and walked over to Rochelle who was cooking. He said something to her I didn't catch and she turned to me with a smile.

"You hungry Ellie?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah a little."

She smiled a little bigger this time and nodded.

"Alright, it will be done in a couple minutes."

I nodded and glanced to where Nick was sound asleep, a few cots away from me. I didn't like the fact he was so far away but I didn't feel like getting up and moving. Instead, I just watched the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and I smiled, just so happy he was breathing at all.

I quickly ate the food Rochelle brought me as I watched Nick slowly sit up and eat his portion. He glanced at me for a second and then looked away. I frowned but didn't let it bother me as I continued to eat. I knew something was bothering him and I would just have to be patient until he told me what it was.

When we finished eating, I noticed Rochelle and Coach were ready to leave anytime. Standing up, a little wobbly on my feet at first, I grabbed my stuff and watched Nick do the same.

"Ready?" I asked.

They nodded.

We started out towards the stadium and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the stage.

"Midnight Riders", I said with excitement in my voice.

Beside me I heard coach holler and laugh, "Yeah baby! Those guys rock!"

"Never heard of them", I heard Nick mutter.

"Me either", said Rochelle.

"Keith and I came to a concert of theirs one time and we got so close to the stage, Keith's eyebrows were burned off and he…"

"Ellie, not now sweetheart", Rochelle said with a small smile.

"Okay", I agreed and moved down the stairs behind the others.

***Nick***

Ellie seemed a little unstable on her feet, but as soon as she saw the stage she seemed to be ten times healthier as adrenaline seemed to rush her system. That dang Keith had to be mentioned again though, I thought with a scowl.

I continued after the others as we walked onto the stage. The stadium was pretty big and I knew the spotlights and music would attract rescue if anything was around this area. I hoped they were anyways, I didn't know how we would escape if they weren't.

"Someone needs to start up the power", Coach replied.

"I got it", said Rochelle as she bound up the stairs swiftly and hit the power switch.

The lights on the stage came on as Ellie cheerfully ran over to the sound system and turned on the record. The music blasted loud into the night and the howl of a horde was heard shortly after. We all stiffened as they rushed into the stadium and began to fight for survival.

Coach took the center stage. Rochelle to the right and I took the left. Ellie was at the front of the stage, having fun with the flames that shoot up off the stage as zombies would run straight into them, catching themselves on fire and then falling into the others that also caught on fire. She laughed as though she were merely playing with insects rather than walking corpses.

A familiar rumble made its way to us and I noticed everyone had stopped smiling as they looked to where a tank had entered the stadium to the right. We began opening fire on it, but a shout took my attention away. A tongue had wrapped itself around Rochelle and was pulling her back almost off the stage. I took off running for her and opened fire onto the slimy thing, a puff of smoke exploding all around her as the thing died on impact from my bullets.

She nodded her thanks as she coughed and we made our way back to the stage where Coach and Ellie stood side by side, firing their rounds into the tank as it dropped to the ground dead before having even reached them.

The sound of a helicopter attracted my attention as I shouted and pointed into the sky. Smiles became etched onto everyone's faces and I felt for once, we might have a chance to get through this nightmare.

The pilot shouted for us to get aboard and I ran without looking back as I quickly climbed into the back of the whirlybird, as Ellie had called it often. The others right behind me sat back and sighed in relief as the pilot took off and we watched as that horrid little dark carnival got further and further away.


	22. Swampy Landing

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

Swampy Landing

***Ellie***

I was so relieved to be in a helicopter with another actual human being, heading towards somewhere safe, away from all this.

I wondered what it would be like to reunite with Dave, Becky and Emily. Would they remember me? Would they be happy to see me? Did they even think about me while I was away from them?

I suppose it didn't matter much, but I just felt the need to have someone worry about me and care for my survival. In thinking this, I found my gaze going to Nick who was beside me. He didn't even look at me, but instead was looking out his side of the helicopter, down at the forest below us.

"So who are you people?" asked the pilot who had rescued us.

"My name is Rochelle; this is Coach, Nick, and Ellie".

I smiled; Rochelle was always the first to be social. The pilot smiled back at us and nodded.

"My names Nate Wiggins, I was just doing a final check around that area when I heard the music and saw the spotlights. You were lucky. A few more minutes and I would have been out of the zone."

"Well we are very glad you were still in the zone", said Coach with a laugh.

I nodded in agreement.

As we flew, I noticed Rochelle and coach slipping into a sleepy daze. I smiled as I saw them lean against one another. I glanced at Nick and noticed him looking down at his hands where I saw him messing with one of his rings.

Curious, I stared at his hands, looking at each ring separately. The one he was messing with was on his right ring finger. It was a simple gold band with seven small diamonds along the top of it. Beside that ring on his middle finger of his right hand, was another gold ring, except this one had different colored jewels, like a ruby, sapphire, diamond, emerald, and some type of a yellow stone.

On his left hand on his middle finger was a silver band with a single diamond in it and gold engravings around the edge of it. It looks rather fancy and elegant for Nick, and yet it suited him.

"This is the ring I got for my 21st birthday", he whispered all at once. Startled, I realized he was saying it to me, seeing as how I was looking at his rings. He pointed to the one had had been twirling. "My dad was a big spender and while he didn't do much for me, he did buy me this one really nice ring with seven diamonds."

"It's nice", I whispered.

He smiled a small, almost sad smile as he pointed to the one with all the colorful stones.

"This ring was a gift to me from my boss. He told me I was a 'person who could come from any color of the rainbow'. I guess he meant I was a player who knew the game way to well, but that's what he said when he gifted me this ring.

"And that one?" I asked pointing to the silver and gold one with the single diamond. He stiffened for a moment and then sighed.

"My wedding ring", he said, "or it had been before we divorced."

"You still wear it?"

He nodded.

"Couldn't get myself to get rid of it."

I nodded.

He glanced at me and then grabbed the thin gold necklace around his neck and pulled it out. Attached at the end was a small gold ring with two small diamonds on either side of a large ruby. It was obviously a girls ring.

"This was my going to my wife's. I had won it at a poker game and was going to give it to her when I got home, but I had gotten drunk and when I got home we fought and the next day she was gone with the divorce papers lying on my bed. I have kept it with me ever since.

"Why?" I asked aloud.

"Guess I am waiting for the right one to give it to", he answered before tucking it back into his shirt. I nodded and leaned back against the seat.

Perhaps one day, I thought to myself, he might consider me the right one.

***Nick***

I don't know why I had told her about my rings or especially about the one I carried with me around my neck. I knew she had noticed it before and I was always really glad she never asked about it, but why did I just tell her without her asking? Wasn't I trying to distance myself from her so I wouldn't have to worry over her?

I sighed. Clearly, I didn't know what I was thinking.

A cough caught my attention and I noticed our pilot moving around a lot in his seat, his hands seemed shaky and I figured he must be pretty tired. However when I noticed Ellie stiffen beside me, I glanced at her in concern.

She turned her eyes to me and whispered in a quiet, shaky voice.

"That's what Keith sounded like before he turned", she said and my heart sank. I watched as the pilot took off his helmet and held his head in his hands.

"Are you guys' cold to?" he asked us, seeing that we were watching him.

Ellie just shook her head, her face scrunched up in obvious discomfort at having to watch this again.

"Man I am freezing and a little dizzy", he admitted as he coughed up blood.

I cocked my pistol as silently as I could but I noticed Rochelle and Coach sitting up staring at me now and Ellie had a horrified look on her face when she noticed what I was about to do.

"No Nick…" she started to say, but I didn't give her another chance to think about it as I pulled the gun and shot the pilot in the head. A burst of red sprayed onto the helicopter front windshield along with some other stuff I tried hard not to look at.

Ellie puked beside me and I noticed Rochelle and Coach trying hard not to look behind them but they also wore a green shade on their faces. I in the meantime was more worried about us crashing as the helicopter began to go out of control. I climbed to the front and grabbed the shift as I tried to steer us down as slowly and gently as possible.

I could see the ground coming up quickly to meet us and I knew we wouldn't get another chance to jump out before the crash if we didn't do it soon.

"Hurry and jump!" I yelled to them.

Coach and Rochelle didn't wait but a minute. As soon as they saw the water below, they jumped and vanished in a splash. I noticed Ellie staring at me, waiting for me to join her. I didn't hesitate as I grabbed her around the waist and jumped out, taking her with me.

I lost my hold on her though as soon as I felt the water rush up to greet us and I fought to get to the surface, green mucky water rushing into my nose as I coughed it up upon surfacing. Twirling around, rubbing the gross water out of my eyes, I looked for the others.

At first I didn't hear or see anything and then all at once I saw Ellie rush up out of the water, her head breaking the surface as she coughed and hacked up what she no doubt had swallowed. I tried not to think about what was in the water as I made my way to her.

"Ellie you okay?"

She nodded, still coughing and trying to squint up at me as water ran into her eyes from her hair. Upon making it to the hard ground, she crawled out and laid down in the grass, trying to get her breath back as she clutched her hat to her chest.

"A-almost lost I-it" she said after a moment.

I didn't say anything and lay down beside her, just trying to get my own breath back.

"W-where is coach and Rochelle?" she asked.

I glanced around but I didn't see them.

"I don't know", I said.

She didn't say anything, but instead she just stood up and grabbed her ponytail and took it down, letting the hair drape across her shoulders. It looked beautiful down, but I wasn't going to tell her that. The curls were a little soggy, but still obvious as she rung it out and then pulled it up into another sloppy ponytail.

Starting off on her own, I huffed a sigh and quickly followed. I knew she was looking for Coach and Rochelle.

"Coach!" she yelled, "Rochelle!"

"Over here!" yelled some voices.

We ran towards them and found both of them sitting on the ground trying to get their breath back like we had been doing.

"You guys okay?" Asked Ellie as she kneeled beside them, not caring that her jeans now had even more mud caked across them.

"We are good Ellie girl", said Coach as he got up, grabbing his head.

"Got a bit of a headache", he said and Rochelle nodded. "Me to", she admitted.

"Well I think I saw a safe room in a small cabin out that way", I said pointing to the way Ellie and I had just come from, "I noticed it from the window."

They nodded and followed us as I lead the way. Beside me Ellie was quiet, but I felt her hand grab hold of mine and I couldn't help but squeeze it in reassurance as we made our way through the swamps.


	23. Swamp Fever

**Chapter Twenty-two:**

Swamp Fever

***Ellie***

Upon entering the safe house that I was extremely glad Nick had spotted all the way out here, we all collapsed onto the floor.

"What a day", Nick moaned.

"You just had to shoot the pilot", complained Rochelle, but she smirked when Nick looked at her and he smirked back. "He turned into a dang Zombie Rochelle."

We all just laid there, enjoying the break until Rochelle decided to get us moving again.

"I think it's time for a shower."

Coach hummed his agreement, "That sounds amazing baby girl."

Rochelle smiled; "I get first dibs," She yelled and ran to the bathroom.

Coach just shook his head and laughed as he collapsed down onto the floor again.

I smiled and glanced at Nick who smiled at me. Seems he finally made up his mind about how he felt, I thought to myself, glad he had picked me.

***Nick***

I felt Ellie lying against me that night after we had all taken showers. She seemed relaxed and overall pretty content as she curled up at my side, humming her pleasure at the way I was rubbing her shoulders.

I smiled and nuzzled her neck as she squirmed in delight making me laugh. I still wasn't sure I should be getting this close to her.

What if she rejects me? What if she dies? What if I die? There were so many what if questions, I knew if I continued to think about it, I would be scared to just let her or me walk out the door in the morning, fearful of something happening to one of us.

In a world such as ours, I knew thinking like that would only get us killed very quickly.

Sighing, I laid over and tried to sleep. I figured I could at least enjoy her warmth tonight and then think more about things in the morning.

When morning did come however, it was not to us jumping up and leaving. Instead, I felt a burning heat rushing through my body and I couldn't even open my eyes as the light hurt my head horribly.

What little I could see when I did get them open, told me the others were the same way. I felt horrible and I drifted off to sleep hoping to wake later, feeling better.

***Ellie***

When I woke, my entire body felt hot and my head hurt really badly. Glancing at Nick I saw a fine layer of sweat on his body and on the bodies of Coach and Rochelle as well. All of them seemed to be asleep still which worried me a little, because usually I was the last one up.

I shook Nick to try to wake him, but he only groaned and squinted up at me before falling asleep again.

Putting my hand on his forehead, I jumped back at how hot he was. I scrambled up and went to Coach and Rochelle and felt that they also had a fever, a very bad one. I knew I probably did too and something told me it was most likely caused by our dip in that disgusting swamp water; probably something we drank.

Going to the freezer I opened it up and was happy to find a couple ice trays full of ice still up there. I grabbed a bucket and dumped the ice into it and then filled it with water till it was freezing cold. Then taking what rags I could find, I dropped them into the water and headed towards the others.

I laid one of the wet cold rags on Nicks head and then on Coach and Rochelle. I went from one to the other trying to get their bodies cooled down. I also wrapped one around my own neck, trying to cool myself down.

Grabbing some of the pills I carried in my pack, I got them each to take some. I could tell they weren't really awake, but luckily they got them down without argument. I knew it would help break their fever and hopefully take care of some infection that may have ended up in their bodies.

I took a few of the pills myself and then sat down in a wooden chair near the counter. I laid my head down and tried to sleep.

***Nick***

I woke a little later, my body felt a little cooler than it had though still pretty warm. I felt something cool and wet on my forehead and noticed a wet cloth. Pulling it off I looked at it in confusion before seeing Rochelle and coach with matching ones.

"Ellie?" I whispered, my head still pounding.

I looked around but I didn't see her anywhere. I figured she went to the bathroom as I lay back down and tried to continue to sleep.

***Ellie***

I had just stepped out of the back room to grab some blankets for the others when I noticed Nick's eyes going closed again.

Great, I thought, I missed a chance to talk to him. At least he was getting some rest. I pulled the sheets out and covered them up. Their skin was still pretty sweaty and I didn't want them getting chilled. Last thing they needed was pneumonia. I then went and grabbed pillows and put them under their heads.

I felt a little light headed and I knew my own fever was beginning to rise, but I had to make sure they were okay first before I took care of myself. I grabbed the bucket of ice water and re-dipped their rags. I rubbed it over their skin trying to cool them down and then replaced them back on their heads before realizing I had forgot the most important thing.

I went to grab the package of water bottles I had noticed earlier in the corner of the cabin. However when I was about half way to it, a dizzy spell hit me and I didn't have time to react before blackness over took me and I crashed to the ground.

***Nick***

I don't know how long I slept but when I woke I no longer felt the burning I did before. My fever was almost gone and I felt a whole lot better. Looking around I noticed Rochelle and Coach still sleeping. I reached out and felt their skin. Clammy, but cool; their fevers had also broken.

"Ellie?" I whispered, not wanting to wake them. I stood up on shaky feet as I started around the counter, my white jacket I noticed lying across the back of a chair. I took a step towards it but stopped when I heard the sound of ragged breathing.

I was worried it was a zombie at first and grabbed my magnum, stepping towards the sound, my gun drawn and ready. However I nearly dropped it when I saw Ellie lying on the ground, her breathing was the one that was ragged. Putting the gun back on the counter, I quickly kneeled at her side.

"Ellie?" I asked, fear consuming me.

I put my hand to her forehead and felt burned as I jerked my hand back. She was so terribly hot, it scared me. Noticing the bucket of ice and rags, I knew she had worked to cool all of us down at the expense of herself.

I stared at it for a moment and then nodded; I knew what I had to do.

Picking her up, I carried her bridal style to the bathroom where a large tub was located. I sat her against the wall and closed the door. Then I started the water, letting it get icy. No doubt she had an almost 105 going on 106 degree fever and I knew any higher would be life threatening.

Going over to her, I pulled off her shirt and then undid her bra, at the moment sexy didn't come to mind as I was too scared. I just knew I needed to get cooled down and quickly. However when I started for her pants I hesitated. Maybe I could just soak them to? No, I knew she would need something warm to wear when she was cooled down.

I unzipped her jeans and pulled them off. I stopped there though, not wanting to embarrass her when she woke up. I picked her up and gently set her in the ice water. Her bright yellow underwear shining through the water, I focused on the color as I rubbed her body down trying to get the fever to leave her skin.

Her face was so pale and her breathing so terrible, I didn't know if I was doing this right but I didn't know what else to do.

It wasn't until after I had done all this that Rochelle told me I could have killed her with shock by doing this, but she said she probably would have told me to risk it anyways, because with a fever as high as that one, there was almost no other choice.

I watched her as she slept in the icy water. I only left her in there for a few minutes though before quickly pulling her out. I didn't want her body becoming too cold. Grabbing some blankets that were still on the beds, I wrapped her in them and held her to me as I sunk onto the floor, my hands rubbing her arms and my forehead against her wet hair.

I fell asleep in that position and didn't move until morning.

***Ellie***

When I woke up I knew I was pretty much naked and it confused me. However the more I came to my senses, I found myself looking up into the sleeping face of Nick.

"Nick?" I asked.

He opened his eyes and yawned. His gaze fell onto me and he smiled in relief.

"You are okay", he said and pulled me to him.

"Uh yeah, what happened?" I asked, glad I had blankets on me as I became a little self-conscious.

"We all got sick and you cared for us, but made yourself even worse", he said, a slight angry and slight concerned tone making its way into his words.

I smiled, "Well I am okay now."

He glared at me and nearly dumped me on my head as he climbed off the floor and slammed the door going out. I didn't know what I had done to make him so mad, but I quickly pulled on my clothes I spotted scattered on the floor and followed him out into the kitchen.

"Is Nick okay?" I asked Rochelle as Nick slammed the door to the bedroom he had vanished into.

"He was really scared for you Ellie. You were burning with fever and he put you in an ice bath to cool you down. You could have died."

"Man, why do I keep almost dying", I whined.

She laughed. "I don't know Ellie girl, seems things just are attracted to you."

I sighed, knowing she had a point. It always seemed like things were attacking me.

"We should get moving", Coach said, "Now that Ellie is feeling better, we need to. If you would pardon the terminology, this isn't exactly a very safe, safe house."

"Yeah, this building or shack, whatever it is, is pretty old", agreed Rochelle.

I nodded as I looked around it.

"Well I will go get Nick."

I went to the bedroom door and knocked.

"Nick, come on babe time to go."

He opened the door and looked at me for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked confused.

"Don't touch me anymore", he said all at once, "Just don't look after me okay. If you're hurt, you care for you and I will care for me. Got it?"

"N-nick?" I asked surprised.

He didn't say another word as he passed and headed out the door. I followed behind, completely and utterly confused.


	24. Plantation Invasion

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

Plantation Invasion

***Ellie***

As we walked through the marsh towards the plantation Nick had said he had spotted a few miles upriver, I stayed as far from the front of the group as I could get. Rochelle noticed and dropped back, concern clearly written on her face.

"What's wrong sweetie?" she asked.

I told her about what Nick had said and she shook her head, anger clouding her expression.

"I will be right back", she stated and began to march up towards him, but I grabbed her arm holding her back.

"Don't Rochelle; this is between me and Nick. I don't understand what I did to make him hate me all at once, but whatever it was, I am sure we will work it out."

I was trying desperately to think of a way to calm both her and me down, or I probably would have let her go up there and knock his block off.

She looked at me a moment and I could tell she was really fighting the urge to just go up there and hit him as hard as she could, not that I blamed her. Finally she nodded and clutched her gun tighter.

"Alright Ellie", she said, "I swear that guy can't do anything but make people mad."

I laughed, mostly agreeing with her. If Nick could do anything, he definitely could make people angry at him or even hate him faster than anyone I had ever known. Still, I wasn't really mad at him, just confused.

"Rochelle, why do you think he said that?"

Rochelle seemed to think about the question for a moment and then shrugged.

"Honestly Ellie, I don't know. Nick is one of those people I think cares either way too little or way too much and he doesn't understand how to balance it out except to hurt the people he wants only to protect."

I nodded and thought over her words.

Was he trying to protect me? Or was he truly over me?

The thought made several emotions rise up in me, but I pushed them all down, especially the sadness. Crying would get me nowhere and I felt like I had done enough crying over him the past few days, however anger was not something I was as familiar with.

"I'm going to go make sure we are still on track", said Rochelle and sprinted to the front beside Nick.

I had a feeling she was going to talk to him about what I had said even though I had asked her not to, but I suppose it would be better if she talked to him than me. Perhaps she could get through to him when I could not.

I watched them up there, walking and talking to one another for a while and as I did, the urge to just shoot something or hit someone was becoming more and more apparent.

I was usually a very happy go-lucky type of a person, but when I saw him talking with Rochelle up front and a smile went onto his face, Anger was what I felt. Anger and perhaps… jealousy? I had never felt them before and I hoped to never feel them again as I glared at everything I saw and began picking off zombies with much more vigor, trying desperately to stop the pain.

***Nick***

I felt Rochelle come up beside me. I was about to say something when she slugged me in the arm as hard as she could. Let me tell you, this girl could hit.

I rubbed my arm at where I would no doubt have a bruise later and stared at her with a suspicious and nasty look upon my face.

"Don't even glare at me, you jerk", she muttered with a huff.

"What is your problem?" I demanded.

"You are my problem", she finally said as she reigned in her anger.

"What did I do?"

She glared at me.

"You always have to push everyone away Nick don't you?"

I stayed silent, realizing Ellie must have told her what I had said.

"She should have looked after herself first", I muttered.

Rochelle glared at me again and I thought for sure she was going to throw another punch, but instead she just sighed and shook her head.

"She _loves you_ Nick, can't you see that?"

I glanced back at Ellie and noticed she was staring at the ground.

"She shouldn't be in love with me", I said after a moment, "I am not the type of guy to fall in love with for a stable commitment."

"Nick", sighed Rochelle, "You're going to regret your actions someday."

I just scoffed, but Rochelle gave me a glare and continued.

"When Ellie finds someone who treats her better then you and begins to question her feelings about you considering you won't return them; you will be heartbroken and you will regret all of it."

Nick thought about that and then smiled, trying to pass it off as something silly instead of serious. He was afraid to think about what she said because he knew it could happen.

"Aw, you do care Rochelle", I said nudging her and smiling the widest fake smile I could muster.

She didn't smile back at me though and instead she slowed down until she was walking next to coach.

I just snorted until I heard Ellie beginning to take pot shots at zombies that had been minding their own business along the side of the road. Glancing back, I was going to tell her to stay quiet and not stir them up, but I stayed silent when I saw the anger on her face. I had never seen Ellie angry and I decided I didn't want to face an angry woman with a gun anytime soon. Especially one, I was sure, was angry because of me.

***Ellie***

We finally arrived at the plantation house. It was a huge white house that reminded me a lot of my grandparent's old place, except theirs had been yellow.

We climbed the scaffolding to the right of the house that lead up to the second story window. It seemed the only way to get inside.

Upon entering I was surprised to see a room with a bunch of stuffed animals. Must have been a child's room I thought and imagined a happy little boy or girl sitting here in their room playing. A large hole was in the floor and I wondered what had caused it as we jumped through it to the first floor.

Nick and Coach went to the left looking through the rooms for anything we could use as Rochelle and I went to the right. I was just opening the door to a bedroom when I stopped and noticed a creaking sound on the other side.

Memory of my mother replayed through my mind and I backed up straight into Rochelle who caught me when I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I pointed at the door and she nodded as we cocked our guns and pushed the door open.

Inside, I tried hard not to puke at what I saw.

In the middle of the bed was a child sitting with two bodies that I had no doubt had once been his father and mother. The child was eating them, intestines hanging out of his mouth as he turned his head to look at us. Bright yellow eyes had replaced his normal ones and he looked almost like a miniature hunter. I was expecting him to attack us like all the zombies had but instead he just went back to what he was doing.

"We should move before he changes his mind", whispered Rochelle.

Keeping down what little I had in my stomach, we slowly and quietly closed the door and turned away.

"That was…" I just shook my head, not even sure what you could say after seeing something like that.

Rochelle nodded. "Disturbing," she said as she finished my unspoken declaration.

We met up with the guys in the backyard of the place. Coach was sitting there bandaging a cut on his arm he had apparently gotten from a stray nail sticking out and Nick was just looking around as he paced.

"Took you guys long enough, you…" he stopped when he saw our faces.

"What happened?" asked Coach in concern.

Rochelle and I just shook our heads.

"You don't want to know", she said and moved past them.

They looked at me in expectation, but I just followed her lead and shook my head, knowing they wouldn't want to have seen what we just saw.

They didn't press any further and instead began to scour the yard, looking for anything that might be able to help us attract a rescue or fight off a possible horde. I had located a few pipe bombs and I heard coach yell something about some Molotov's, but it was Rochelle who found the grand prize.

"A radio!" She shouted.

Nick sprinted to it and picked it up.

"Hello, anyone out there? Please pick up if you are!"

We waited, listening for anything to break the sound of static that surrounded us.

"Why hello out there!" yelled a voice back through it.

"Oh thank God", said Nick with relief, "We are at a plantation house, anyway you could help us get out of here?"

"Sure can do my boy", he yelled happily, "you said where now?"

"A large white plantation house on a hill", Nick said trying his best to describe the surrounding area.

"Ah I know what you're talking about. Alright hang tight fellas; I will be there in about ten minutes."

"Right, thanks man", Nick said as he hung up the radio.

"Well we have ten minutes, guess we need to try to stay alive until then", said Rochelle.

At that moment a horde sounded.

"Great", whined Nick as he reloaded his weapon and cocked it, aiming it towards the house, "here they come."

We all opened fire as a large crowd of zombies swarmed up. Coach grabbed a pipe bomb and threw it. We watched as they chased it like ravenous dogs and then exploded.

"You have to love those", Coach cheered.

I laughed at his excitement and opened fire again as the hordes attention went back to us.

A loud moan of some sort sounded to my right and I gasped as I noticed a charger getting ready to come at me.

Soon as he took off, I rolled to the right and he slammed into the gate, missing me by mere kilometers. I grabbed my katana I had found inside the house and slit him in two as he fell to the ground dead. Whirling around, I continued to strike anything that came near me as we waited for the longest ten minutes I have ever felt, to go by.

***Nick***

I saw Ellie take out the charger with great precision and speed. Not wanting to be caught watching her again, I quickly went back to the zombies who were surrounding me and Coach. Grabbing my baseball bat, I swung down on them. Bloody sprayed across my face and clothes and had I not been busy trying to stay alive, I might have been angry about this fact, but I didn't pay it much attention at the moment.

"Nick!" yelled Rochelle, "Set the charges around the gate!"

I quickly nodded and scrambled back behind the others as I set the gas tanks along the gate and then placed a few of the gas cylinders right alongside them. If anything would draw more zombies, this loud explosion would, so I had to be perfect in my timing or risk being overrun.

"I'm here, I'm here!" I heard the radio squawk only moments later, "Hurry now!"

I didn't waste time. I opened fire on the cans and the thing exploded into a cloud of fire and smoke.

We all took off; not even stopping to make sure everyone was following as we waded through the water towards the boat next to the sunken down peer.

"Hurry now!" yelled the man who I could see was waving desperately at us from the upper deck, a sniper rifle in his hands as he tried to cover us while we made our way to him.

Taking a running leap, I practically dove onto the boat as I turned and helped the others on board, all of us collapsing in relief soon as our feet hit the deck. The captain started up the boat as soon as we were all on and took off.

Looking back, we all grimaced as we saw three tanks running towards where we had just escaped from. Had we still been there, we would not have survived.


	25. The Little Riverboat

**Chapter Twenty-four:**

The little Riverboat

***Ellie***

I stood up and stretched, a pain spreading through me as I felt my stitches pull. I noticed a warm wetness soaking into my shirt and across my stomach.

"Great", I muttered, knowing I must have pulled something and opened one of my wounds. Glancing around, I laid eyes on Coach and Rochelle. Both were sitting on the ground, their eyes closed as they leaned against each other just breathing, no doubt both a little out of breath after our sprint to the boat.

Turning my head to look at Nick, I saw he was taking out a cigarette with shaky hands as he leaned his head back against the railing and closed his eyes, relief and tension evident in his every action. I thought about going over to him but decided against it; more than likely he would just turn away from me if I did.

"Well howdy fellas", said a very southern sounding voice.

We all looked up into the kind and concerned face of an older man, probably around sixty years of age. He had white curly hair and a white beard and mustache that framed his face perfectly making him look younger. He had a captain's sailing hat on his head and then a black naval jacket with a red t-shirt beneath it with a pair of black naval dress pants and black combat boots. In his mouth was a pipe and a red handkerchief hung around his neck. A scar stretched from the top of his left eye to the bottom of his chin on the right side and his eyes were a deep green filled with what I could only deem as excitement upon seeing us.

"I have not seen another fella in ages", he said with a smile.

"Thanks for the rescue Captain", said Coach shaking hands with him.

"Yes thank you, we would have died had we stayed there much longer", said Rochelle.

He nodded his head, happy for the compliments as he looked over each of us.

"So who might you fellas be?" he asked.

"I'm called Coach", started the big man with an even bigger smile, "this here is Rochelle, Ellie, and Nick."

The man nodded to each of us in turn and then he laid his eyes on me and frowned.

"You look a might injured there girlie", he said with concern as he eyed my shirt where the blood was seeping through.

I noticed Nick had looked up quickly when he had said this.

Rochelle stepped forward and grimaced, "We need to take a look at that, possibly even re-stitch it."

I nodded, not looking forward to the pain I would no doubt feel from a re-stitching.

"You can use the downstairs bedroom", the captain said as he watched us, "You need any help?"

"Not unless you're a doctor", Rochelle said with the shake of her head, but with a smile.

The man laughed but shook his head.

"No not a doctor, just an old man. Let me know if you need me though."

"Thank you sir", I said and he nodded, giving me a kind smile in return for my own.

***Nick***

As I watched Rochelle help Ellie downstairs, I felt my stomach cramp up. I noticed the small puddle of blood on the deck that had been slowly forming from where she had been standing.

I hadn't even noticed until the captain had said something about it. Irritated with myself for being so un-perceptive, I stood up and stretched out my tense muscles when I noticed coach watching me, a dull look on his face as though watching a boring play of some kind. "What?"

"Nothing Nick", he finally said, "but don't regret this."

He walked away before I could say anything, so I just scowled and kicked the side of the boat as I looked out over the water.

What was there to regret?

***Ellie***

As Rochelle finished patching me up, Coach and the captain came downstairs and smiled upon seeing I was cleaned up and looking probably better than I had before.

"You're looking better girlie", said the Captain with a chuckle, his statement mimicking my thoughts.

"Thanks, I feel better", I said glancing at Rochelle who sent me a wink and a soft "your welcome" under her breath as she moved towards Coach.

"How about you all come up to the front of the ship and share a drink with me as you tell me a little about how you came to be at that there plantation."

We followed him up, Nick joining us, as the Captain poured us all a drink from the bottle of whiskey he had kept stored in his cabin.

"Well?" he asked, waiting for us to begin.

"I was reporter for Channel 14 news broadcasting station", started Rochelle, "My cameraman turned and attacked me and I had to kill him before he killed me. After that I went to the hotel evacuation site and met Coach who was talking to some teenage boys in the waiting line. A horde attacked, he and I teamed up and we worked together to get to the roof of that building where we met Ellie and Nick. After that, we have been looking for a way to get to a safe zone."

"Yeah, that's pretty much all of our stories, except the reporter thing", said Coach with a nod, "I was a high school football coach."

"I see, what about you two?" he asked me and Nick.

Nick glanced around at all of us and then sighed.

"I was a gambler having a private tournament on a grand riverboat casino owned by my boss who was also a friend of mine. We were attacked and then I took off and met up with these guys."

Nick didn't like being the center of attention, so he quickly stood up and went to the railing as he lit up a cigarette and turned away from us so that he wouldn't have to talk anymore.

"What about you girlie?" he asked, "You seem like you might be from around these parts."

I shook my head.

"I am from Savannah", I said with a smile, "but I have traveled up this way before when I was younger with my mama and papa."

He nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"Well, I was with my boyfriend Keith", I said glancing at Nick who was facing us again, his gaze darkening when I called Keith my boyfriend. "He got bit by an infected and then he died in the hospital shortly after. Then I met up with these guys at the hotel roof."

The captain nodded; a deep sadness in his eyes.

"I know that feeling young'un" he said. "My wife and I were always taking people around this area on riverboat rides or deep sea fishing. I had gotten up to get the boat ready a few days ago and when I went to wake her, she was infected like most people around here now. Seems she had gotten bit by one of them fellas in the woods that had been snooping around our house, but she hadn't told me. She started to attack me so I took off to the boat and set out, not going back."

We listened, completely sympathizing with his story and deep grief.

"Well anyways" he said with a small smile, "You can call me Virgil."

"Thanks again Virgil", I said and meant it.

That night I listened as the waves rushed past the boat, the feeling of being on the water rocking me was really soothing, but because of the unfamiliar motion, I couldn't sleep.

Sitting up, I looked around and saw the others were out cold. Being as quiet as I could be, I stepped out of the lower cabin and onto the back of the boat where I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes. Letting my hair down, I allowed the wind to toss it around, just enjoying the feeling.

"Couldn't sleep?" asked a voice.

I turned around to see Virgil watching me.

I shook my head and he walked up beside me, leaning on the railing just enjoying the breeze with me before he finally spoke.

"I noticed you and that young man in there never looked at one another for very long. You guys not pals?"

I didn't say anything, except to shrug. I didn't feel like talking about this again, but I knew he was waiting on me to give him a real answer.

"He doesn't want to be", I finally said.

The man nodded and then took out his pipe and began to puff on it before turning to me.

"You know, I bet you he cares more than he is letting on."

"Why does he act the way he does then?" I asked, anger coming through my words faster than I could stop it.

"Probably because he is scared", Virgil said and I was surprised.

"Nick doesn't get scared", I muttered, but even I knew how stupid that sounded.

Virgil just laughed.

"Don't give up on him Hun, he will come around."

I just shrugged, not wanting to talk about Nick anymore. As if being able to tell this, Virgil quickly changed the topic.

"So you come from Savannah eh?"

I nodded.

"I went there once when Betsy and I were younger. We had just gotten married and decided to do some traveling for our honey moon. We stayed in the Savannah Hotel and even went to that old fancy Casino your friend was taking about. Place was real nice, but not my type of boat."

I smiled as I listened to him, he sounded so happy.

"Betsy and I would stay up late watching the stars on the patio of our hotel room, just enjoying the peace and quiet and just being together. I don't think", he stopped as he removed his pipe and stared at it, deep in thought, "that I have watched the stars since then."

"Well do you want to?" I asked.

He glanced at me and then up at the stars and he smiled.

"I would like that."

We both laid down on the deck, our arms behind our heads as we gazed up at the night sky. Virgil pointed out which stars were which to me and I just listened, happy to just be talking to someone just to talk. It had been a long time since I had, had a decent conversation with anyone.

Virgil and I must have lain out there for several hours, because by the time we had sat back up, the stars were nearly gone and light was dawning.


	26. Out of Gas

**Chapter Twenty-five:**

Out of Gas

***Nick***

When I awoke that morning, I noticed Ellie wasn't in her bed. Concerned because she usually was the latest sleeper, I went up on deck and noticed Virgil and her sitting and talking on the front of the boat, pointing at dark clouds that were swirling overhead. Slowly making my way closer to them, I noticed Ellie had her hair down across her shoulders, the wind blowing it every which way.

I tried hard not to look so closely at her as I neared.

"Hey", I said casually.

Ellie and Virgil both glanced at me.

"Howdy", Virgil said with a nod in my direction, "Sleep well?"

I nodded. "Yeah"

"If you're hungry", he said, "There is some fresh made bacon downstairs in the fridge. Me and this little lady here were near starving earlier."

I didn't say anything, as I turned around and headed back downstairs to wake Coach and Rochelle for breakfast.

***Ellie***

I watched Nick walk away and sighed as I turned back to look at the dark clouds forming above the boat. Virgil noticed my disappointment, but other than a small pat on my arm he mostly ignored it.

"See them clouds?" he said.

I nodded.

"They are storm clouds. No doubt we are going to get some nasty weather mighty soon."

"Will a boat like this be okay in a storm?" I asked.

Virgil shrugged.

"Depends on how bad the storm is little lady, if we…" he stopped when the boats engine began to sputter in and out. Dashing to the lower cabin and past the surprised looks of the others just getting up out of bed, he went to the engine room and sighed, resting his head against his arm as he looked down at the fuel tank.

"We are almost out of gas."

"Well that's just fantastic", muttered Nick as his foot collided with the wall in annoyance.

Virgil glared at him but didn't say anything as he passed.

"Is there any place we can pick up some gas?" I asked.

Virgil stopped and thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, down river just a ways is a peer that leads into a small industrial town. There are two gas stations not too far away. One is right near the peer and the other is across the sugar cane field. Hopefully the first one has what we need, but if not, that's where you're going to have to go."

"Can we get there with the gas we have right now?" asked Rochelle.

"Should be able to, but get ready fellas, you're about to have to face the wild again."

***Nick***

As we all prepared to shove off, I noticed Ellie having some trouble cleaning out her gun. Stepping over, I hesitated before offering my help.

"Need me to do that?"

She glanced up at me and shrugged.

"If you want to", she said.

I didn't say anything as I took the barrel out of her hands and began to clean it. I noticed she was watching me, though she didn't say anything as I finished and handed it back to her. She thanked me with a slight nod and then put it back together and walked past me without a glance back.

I didn't comment on it and followed her out as we jumped off the deck.

"Y'all signal me when you get the gas", Virgil yelled as he moved the boat away from the peer into the safety of the middle of the lake.

"Signal him with what?" I asked.

"The flare gun", said Ellie staring at me.

"What flare gun?"

"You didn't grab the flare gun?" she looked at me with disbelief.

Getting slightly defensive I took a step forward.

"I didn't see the flare gun Overalls", I yelled, "So sew me."

Ellie didn't say anything except glare at me as she turned around and walked away. I noticed Coach and Rochelle glare at me to and I just rolled my eyes muttering complaints as I followed after them.

***Ellie***

"That idiot," I muttered to myself as I stomped out of the first gas station and looked around. I noticed the sign saying 'Out of Gas' and sighed.

"Guess we go to the one across the sugar cane field."

The others nodded with evident displeasure.

As we started forward I noticed the rows of houses we were passing. They all looked real nice and I wondered what this place was like before the infection had hit.

"Ellie I hear a spitter", said Rochelle warning me.

A green gob of goo came out of nowhere right at me and I dodged to the left, barely escaping it before it would begin burning through my shoes into my feet.

Coach took aim and fired, killing it dead with one bullet.

"Nice Shot Coach", said Rochelle with a smile.

Coach winked and happily moved forward, whistling a happy familiar tune that made me smile.

As we passed a garage sale sign I noticed a small teddy bear to the right. The thing was dirty and wet from the past rain storms that had come through the area, but something about it made me smile.

When the others had moved past, I hesitated only a moment before stuffing the little bear into my bag. I just felt it would be nice to have something normal with me. Perhaps when I cleaned it up some, it would be a good little keep sake I could pass on to my own kids, if I ever became a mother.

"Ellie you're falling behind" Coach hollered and I quickly started rushing forward to catch up.

I was almost to them when I heard a familiar growl. I stopped, trying to listen for where it was coming from. Looking all around me, I noticed a shadow in the corner of my eye on the right. I spun around trying to shoot it before it pounced but I didn't even get a shot off when it landed on me, its nails about to tear into me.

I struggled, the rifle I held in my arms taking the damage that had been meant for me, but I knew I would be able to keep this up for long.

"H-help", I tried to yell out, but it didn't come out very strong.

Just when my strength wavered and I thought for sure it had me, a club came out of nowhere and smacked the thing off. I tried to see who had saved my life, but my vision was going dark. My head had smacked a rock when I had fallen and I hadn't noticed until now that the pain was excruciating, most likely because of the adrenaline I had been feeling.

"Hey", shouted a voice, "Hey!"

But I drifted off before I could respond to it.

***Nick***

"Ellie!" we yelled, but she didn't answer.

My heart was beginning to beat rapidly as we looked around for her and yelled out her name, but neither hide nor hair of her was found.

"Ellie answer us!" I yelled.

"Where could she have disappeared to?" asked Coach as we headed back the way we had come.

"Ellie!" we screamed.

"Nick!" yelled Rochelle sprinting to where a small puddle of blood was located just beside a downed hunter. My heart did a flip when I noticed it and immediately I began to think of the worst possible scenarios. Seems the others did as well because they began looking for her with much more gusto than before.

"Ellie!" I screamed as I headed towards the garage sale, "Overalls!"

A crash got my attention and I sprinted towards the house closest to me, my gun aimed and ready as I kicked open the door. I nearly dropped the cigarette out of my mouth as I gaped upon what I had found.

Standing there staring back at me were four other survivors, theirs guns pointed and prepped as they took aim at my head.

"Who the hell are you son?" asked the older man, his eyes showing he clearly meant business.

I swallowed nervously and raised my hands, hoping they wouldn't just go ahead and shoot me.

"Uh, hi there" I said as my eyes met the barrel of an automatic shotgun.


	27. The other Four

**Chapter Twenty-six:**

The other Four

***Nick***

"I asked who you are." the older man said again.

"My name is Nick; I am looking for a friend of mine who disappeared."

The old man hesitated but then lowered his gun which made the other three lower theirs.

"My name is Bill. These guys are Francis, Zoey, and Louis."

I nodded to them as I put down my hands and picked back up my gun.

"You said you were looking for a friend of yours. Describe her to us."

I was about to when I realized he had said 'her'.

"How did you know she was a she?" I asked.

He sighed. "Just tell us son."

"Well she is medium height, has light brown curly hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a black and blue Adidas shirt and baggy jeans this morning and she always wears a blue and white baseball cap on her head."

The man nodded as he took out a cigarette of his own and began to smoke it.

"We found your friend kid", he said as he waved out the match and threw it to the ground, "Francis here saved her from being hunter chow."

"A hunter" I gasped horrified.

Bill nodded.

"Nick!" yelled some voices.

I turned back to my friends who ran up beside me and lifted their guns out of surprise when they saw the other four survivors.

"Seems we should talk", said Bill upon seeing them.

Coach and Rochelle just nodded.

I watched as the four headed out of the house. The one I figured was called Francis came out last, Ellie in his arms, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"I can take her", I said waiting for him to hand her to me.

He just glanced at me and huffed a laugh.

"I got her", he said and followed his friends forward.

Coach and Rochelle only glanced at me as they went after them, leaving me to catch up.

When we arrived at the safe house, Francis put Ellie down onto a couch that was in the room. I noticed how gentle he was being with her and frowned.

Noticing my frown, he just smirked and wiped some hair out of her eyes which almost made me see red as he walked past me. I glared at his back the entire way as I sat down beside Rochelle and Coach, across from the other four.

Bill sat on some boxes, a cigarette at his lips as he watched us sit down. The man was older, but he looked hard core the way he was dressed, not to mention the way he acted. He wore a Green Beret hat and uniform with some black gloves and combat boots. He looked ready to take down any and everything that came his way.

Beside him, a pretty but young woman sat fiddling with her dual pistols. She wore a white and red hoodie with a white t-shirt beneath it and a pair of tight blue jeans and tennis shoes. She looked like a college student with her straight brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. She leaned against Bill as Louis sat down on the floor next to her.

Louis looked a lot like what I would call an office worker. He wore a white shirt with a red tie and a pair of black dress pants. He was a black man like Coach and Rochelle, but he didn't look like he could hurt a fly, while as I would swear Coach and Rochelle could blast you away with just a look.

Then there was him, the tough guy, aka Francis. The man wore a white t-shirt with a black biker vest over top of it. A pair of dark ripped jeans on his legs and a pair of biker boots on his feet. He had tattoos all over his arms and his left ear pierced. He sat beside Louis and just smirked at me.

I would have probably started something with him right then if it hadn't been for Rochelle beginning introductions.

"My name is Rochelle, this is Coach and Nick, and it seems you already met Ellie."

They nodded as I noticed Francis glance at her.

"Care to tell me why you didn't notice a member of your team was about to become Hunter Chow?" Bill asked. He didn't say it aggressively, but I noticed Coach and Rochelle becoming defensive.

"We didn't even realize she had stopped", said Coach with a frown.

"We thought she was right behind us", agreed Rochelle.

Bill didn't say anything but Zoey laughed.

"Seems you need to pay a little more attention", she said with a small amount of bite behind her words.

Coach's frown deepened but Rochelle nodded.

"Yeah I guess we all just wanted to hurry up and get out of here. Place gives me the creeps."

"I can understand that", commented Louis.

Bill glanced at Louis but didn't say anything as he stood up and walked to the door, glancing out the bars at the passing zombies.

"Well since you are here, obviously you came for something", stated Louis.

"Yeah our boat is out of gas, we came to retrieve some from the gas station across the sugar cane field."

"That's a ways out", commented Bill, "What about the one by the river."

"Sold out", I said, glancing at Ellie.

Bill looked at me and just nodded.

"Well since we are here guess we can travel together for a bit. We were looking for a way out of here. River wood is overrun; this was the closest place to it. Okay with you guys?" Bill asked, although we got the feeling he really wasn't requesting it as much as demanding it.

"Fine by me", said coach.

Rochelle nodded and I gave a slight nod as well, I couldn't really say they couldn't and a little help I figured would probably go a long ways even if I had to put up with Francis for a bit.

Bill nodded as though he already knew our answer, which he probably did, and then looked at his team.

"Rest up; we head out in an hour."

They nodded and found comfortable positions around the room.

I noticed Francis going over to the couch and looking down at Ellie. I stood up and followed.

"What is her name again?" Francis asked me.

"Ellie", I said, though hesitantly. I didn't like the way he was staring at her.

"Ellie", he repeated and smiled, "The girl is a fighter. You should have seen her holding off that hunter. Most people can't hold them off as long as she did."

"Why didn't you help her quicker then?" I asked angrily.

Her just smirked at my anger and shrugged.

"We heard the growling but we couldn't find her."

The man noticed her smile in her sleep.

"She looks so at peace", he said with a laugh, "I wish I could sleep like that."

I didn't say anything as I wished he would just walk away from her. Instead he sat down beside the couch and leaned his head back near her arm and closed his eyes.

***Ellie***

When I woke up I knew I had to of been asleep for a while because when I came to, the sky was now a ceiling and instead of lying dead in a puddle of my own blood, I was alive and on what I assumed to be a couch.

Sitting up slightly, I looked around and spotted Coach and Rochelle on the stairs of the safe room talking with someone I couldn't see. Probably Nick I guessed. Looking to the side of the room, I noticed three strangers sitting together in a circle playing cards while whispering back and forth to each other. I sort of remembered being helped out from under the hunter by people I had never seen before, but I had thought it was just a dream. Guess not.

"Hey your awake", said a deep, yet scratchy voice.

I glanced down and to my right where a guy I hadn't noticed before was just sitting up from laying on the floor beside the couch.

"Man I thought you weren't ever going to wake", he said with a large smile.

"I take it you're the ones who saved me?"

He nodded.

"My name is Francis; those guys are Bill, Louis, and Zoey."

They sent me nods in my direction and I just smiled and gave a short half wave.

"My name is Ellie, thanks for saving me guys."

"No problem sweetheart", he said and I blushed at the name.

He smiled bigger and stuck out a hand to help me up.

I took it hesitantly as he gently pulled me to a standing position. I wavered on my feet for a second, but he just held onto me until I was ready to move.

"There you are, feeling better?"

I nodded slowly, trying to calm my aching head.

"Yeah sort of", I said.

"She hit her head Francis, she isn't going to be feeling fantastic yet", stated Zoey with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah man, we can't all have a hard head like you", said the one called Louis with a laugh.

Francis just frowned and patted his head like a little kid and then chuckled.

"Yeah I guess it is hard."

Bill smirked and the others just shook their heads laughing. I laughed to. It had been a while since I had seen a group of people who seemed so relaxed and friendly with one another.

"Come on Ellie, want something to eat?" he asked me.

"Sounds good", I said with a smile and he handed me a can of ravioli. Quickly I scarfed it down, feeling better to have something real in my stomach.

"Jeez girl, when was the last time you ate?" asked Zoey seeing how quickly I had disposed of the can.

"We had bacon this morning, but before that, it had been a day or so."

"Wow, do you want another can of it?" asked Louis handing me another one.

I hesitated but then took it and put it into my backpack.

"Thanks, I will save it for later."

He nodded and sent me a friendly smile.

I smiled back and noticed Rochelle coming towards us.

"Hey Ellie, feeling better?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, these guys gave me something to eat. Have you eaten anything?"

Rochelle nodded.

"Yeah I ate a thing of canned chicken", she said as she sat down beside me.

"Where is Nick and Coach?" I asked.

"Resting, we are about to head out."

I nodded as I leaned back against the couch.

"You feel up to coming with us? We could always leave you here and pick you up on the return trip if you're…"

"No I'm good", I said.

She nodded, "Alright then."

"You sure?" whispered Francis, "You look pretty pale."

I nodded. "I will be fine."

He didn't say anything else and instead, just leaned back against the couch next to me and laid his head over on my shoulder and went to sleep almost instantly.

I sat there stunned and Rochelle stared at him for a moment in shock before smiling.

"He must be tired", she said and walked away, but I had a feeling she was indicating more than that. Watching her with suspicion until she sat down, I then glanced at Francis who was leaning on me. His breath was warm against my neck and it sent chills down my spine. His goatee was scratchy but not in a bad way against my chin and he looked so gentle when he was sleeping, like a little kid almost.

"Dude Francis, you're going to slobber on her", commented Louis as he kicked the man in the leg.

Francis darted awake and then looked at me and blushed.

"Uh, sorry Ellie", he said; "guess I was more tired than I thought."

"It's okay, I didn't mind it", I said.

He looked at me a moment and then smiled.

"You sure?" he asked.

I nodded.

He leaned back down onto my shoulder, but I knew he was awake this time. I felt him relax against me and then I heard him whisper into my ear.

"You're really comfortable", he said, "I have never fallen asleep that fast before in my life."

I laughed which made his body bounce a little which made him laugh with me.

"Mind if we go onto the couch?"

I shook my head and watched him get situated, and then he opened his arms to me. I hesitated as I glanced back in the direction I knew Nick to be before deciding it didn't matter and crawled up against him. He laid his chin on my head as I snuggled against his chest, his leather vest cool against my warm skin.

"Get some rest Ellie", he whispered and I nodded and drifted to sleep.

***Nick***

When I woke up about twenty minutes after we had laid down to rest, I was peeved when I saw the scene that confronted me. Sitting on the couch was that leather punk Francis and wrapped in his arms sound asleep was Ellie.

I had to have stood there a good couple minutes before I felt Rochelle push me forward. I glared back at her but she just sent me a glare in return.

"I told you not to regret your actions Nick" she said with a sigh, "This is what happens when you push everyone you love away from you because of your fear."

I didn't respond because I didn't have to; she and I both knew she was right. I had screwed up big time and this was the consequences. Past fears be darned, Ellie was mine and I wasn't going to let a biker creep with a leather fetish have her. He was in for a fight and I made sure to make it known as he looked up at me and smirked. I gave a smirk of my own and he frowned. He knew the real battle had begun; the battle for Ellie's heart.


	28. The Sugar Cane Field

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

The Sugar Cane Field

***Ellie***

I honestly didn't know what to make of Francis. He seemed like a good sort of guy and yet some of the comments and actions he came off with left me slightly tentative of him. He was definitely a jokester and while I was usually okay with things like that, he made me a little uneasy, probably because I could tell Nick wasn't happy about Francis being so close to me all the time.

Part of me was glad to see Nick jealous while the other part of me was angry. Angry it had taken Francis being here for him to start to show some real emotion to me again.

I felt a little bad for Francis actually, while he seemed a likeable guy, I honestly loved Nick. I knew what I was doing would only hurt Francis in the long run, but I wanted to see Nick jealous, I wanted him to feel the pain he had put me through these past few days.

Beside me, Francis put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"I know" he whispered.

I looked at him confused.

He chuckled and glanced back at Nick who was glaring at the two of us, but trying to do it without me noticing.

"I know why your humoring me", he said a little louder this time, but only loud enough so that I could hear him better.

I looked up at him and frowned, trying to figure out what he thought he knew.

"I could tell the moment he saw you in my arms at the house. It was fun irritating him, so I figured I would keep doing. I didn't expect you to play along though. I wasn't sure at first if you were doing it for the same reason till I noticed you glancing back at him every now and again."

"I'm so sorry Francis", I said realizing he knew I had been buddy, buddy with him to get at Nick, "I wasn't trying to play with your feelings, I just…"

"Nah girl I don't mind none, in fact I will help you make the greedy ba…"

"Francis" I huffed, not wanting him to call Nick such horrible names.

He sighed.

"Greedy jerk", he said and smirked at me.

I smiled back.

"I got an idea", he said all at once.

I was about to question him when he put his arm around my shoulder and with a glance back at Nick to see if he was watching, he pulled my face roughly to his and kissed me on the lips. I tried to back away but he kept a hold of me and only released me when I was practically suffocating from lack of air.

He started to laugh and I was about to yell at him for kissing me like that when the next thing I know, Nick is throwing a punch that knocks Francis on his backside and then both are wrestling in foot deep mud, neither caring about the fact they are now both covered head to toe in brown muck or the fact that they have just disturbed a very upset witch.

_WHAT! _

I turned to shout a warning, but neither one of them heard it as they were too busy fighting to notice.

Just as the witch got up and started towards them, Bill, Zoey, and Louis stepped in front of the two unaware targets and opened fire. She fell to the ground dead right at their feet.

Nick and Francis both looked up from their fight to see the witch and the unamused faces of their comrades. Nick glanced down at Francis who glanced back up at Nick.

Making sure to stomp on Francis' hand as he got up, Nick walked past me and the others without a look back.

Francis stood up and held his hand as he glared at Nick's backside. Louis was hooting with laughter and I noticed Rochelle, Coach, and Zoey snickering as well. Bill just shook his head and mumbled something I didn't hear under his breath as he started out after Nick.

"You okay?" I asked Francis, aggravation radiating from me.

Francis nodded and turned towards me about to smile.

"Good", I said and then pulled back my own fist and punched him straight in the nose.

Francis yelled out and stumbled back, falling to his knees as he gripped his nose and peered up at me through tearful eyes.

"Don't ever kiss me like that again", I said seething, and started after the others.

Behind me I heard Louis laughing even harder and Francis yelling at him to shut up as blood poured down his face, but I didn't care. I kept walking until I caught up with Nick who looked almost unrecognizable with his clothes coated in mud that had begun to harden quickly in the cool morning air.

***Nick***

My entire body hurt from that mud wrestling I just did, not to mention how my clothes felt heavy on me now. I didn't dare look down at them.

I heard someone coming up beside me. I figured it was Rochelle, so I turned to see what she wanted but I stopped instantly when I noticed it was Ellie.

I forced myself to keep walking as I watched her from the corner of my eye. She seemed to want to say something.

"Nick", she finally said.

I turned to her just as she threw a punch that hit me square in the nose. My knees buckled as I held my nose and peered up at her in confusion. If I had thought Rochelle hit hard, it was nothing compared to Ellie's right hook.

"I have had enough of you and everyone else playing with my emotions", she said as she paced in front of me, "First Keith, then you and now Francis, I have had enough. If you ever come to me with even one little bit of a romantic notion, I will… ugh…" she screamed in irritation.

I waited for her to continue, my nose throbbing, but luckily not bleeding though I noticed Francis' was.

"If you ever reject me again, should you decide for some odd reason to want to come back to me now after all that crap you put me through, you best heed my words", she said kneeling in front of me as she wiped the mud off my face, "I will leave you and never return."  
>I didn't say anything to that, but she didn't wait for a response as she stood up and walked away.<p>

Behind me I heard Rochelle stop and kneel down to my level.

"She is giving you another chance Nick, I wouldn't waste this one."

I didn't say anything to her as I followed the others, completely ignoring Francis. I knew I didn't deserve what she had just given me, but Rochelle was right. I had one more chance and if I ruined it this time, I knew Ellie would follow through on her promise and when we got to rescue, I would never see her again.

My thoughts returned to Robin and I clutched the ring around my neck. I knew what I had to do, but I hated expressing my emotions, I wasn't good at it. I looked at Ellie ahead of me though and knew if I didn't do this soon, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for the rest of my life.

***Ellie***

My first really hurt. I could see blood on my hand from where I had punched both guys, busting open a knuckle. They deserved it and I wasn't going to apologize for it. I saw Rochelle wink at me and send me a thumbs up and I just smiled and continued beside Bill.

He glanced at me and then started snickering.

"Never thought you had it in you kid", he said and sent me a thoughtful, accepting smile.

I just smirked.

"Seems neither did they", I said and we both laughed.

I noticed Nick was pretty quiet. He rubbed his nose now and again which was a little puffy, but for the most part he just walked with his head down, only looking up now and again to check the surroundings. He seemed deep in thought and I was actually pretty relieved to see he wasn't mad at me or at least he didn't look like he was.

Behind him I glimpsed Francis holding his still bleeding nose with Louis and Zoey laughing at him as they walked. He caught my eye and smirked at me, obviously not mad at me either as he punched Louis in the arm and started an argument with the man.

I noticed Bill just shake his head as he listened to them bicker.

"They seem fun", I said as a conversation starter.

He glanced at me and smiled.

"They are my family", he replied, "All I got left now."

I nodded.

"Yeah", I said, "Me to."

Bill hesitated but then he offered me a cigarette from his pack. I glanced at it and then him, but shook my head.

"No thank you, not big into smoking."

He just shrugged, "Habit", he said.

I nodded. Nick had the same habit.

We had just walked through the factory building when we reached the elevator.

"This is going to make a lot of noise", said Bill with a sigh.

"Just do it old man, we can handle it", said Francis.

"You know it," said Zoey with a smile.

Bill just shook his head and cocked his gun and then slammed the button down.

The screams of the horde filled the air and before long, hundreds of shadows could be seen as they made their way towards us.

"Here they come", commented Nick.

I glanced over at him but didn't move closer to him. Any action that was going to be made to continue our relationship was now in his ball park, his choice. My mind was made up.

***Nick***

As the zombies came closer, we unloaded on them. I noticed Ellie glance at me but she stayed where she was between Rochelle and Bill and kept on firing so they wouldn't swarm us. I knew anything that would happen now was on me. It was time I took responsibility for my own emotions and actions.

The elevator dinged as it arrived and quickly I ran into it and hollered for the others. They stumbled back into it and the doors slammed shut as we waited for it to get us to the bottom of the building where the large sugar cane field laid before us.

"There are probably witches hidden in there", said Coach as he looked around the area, "Seems like their type of territory."

I nodded, agreeing with him. Apparently so did the others.

"Split into pairs of two and stick together, in a field like this, you can easily get turned around", said Bill as he dropped his cigarette and stomped it out, "Rochelle and Zoey, you are together. Coach and Louis, you are together. Francis and Nick, you are together. Me and Ellie. Now go"

I noticed Ellie glance at me in concern but I sent her a small reassuring smile telling her I wouldn't kill Francis while we were teamed up, though I had to admit I was wondering why the old man put us two together.

Francis it seemed was thinking the same way. He glanced at me and just shrugged as we headed out into the field.

***Ellie***

"Why did you put Francis and Nick together?" I asked Bill as we walked along the pipe in the middle of the field.

"Two hot heads like that", said Bill with a chuckle, "They may just keep the rest of us safe by alerting the horde."

I stared at him in surprise and he glanced at me with a smile. I realized he was joking and laughed. Finally he shrugged and fiddled with his gun as he answered.

"Sometimes the best of friends, are the least likely", he said and kept on walking.

I didn't think I would ever see the day when Francis and Nick were best friends, but I didn't doubt there was some truth to that statement. Perhaps this would work out for the best.

No longer doubting the old man's logic, I continued after him, only slightly concerned about how Nick and Francis were making out with one another's company.

***Nick***

"Would you keep up!" I scowled as Francis once again dropped behind.

"Your moving too fast pretty boy", said Francis with his own scowl.

"Well if you would move faster, we would be on the same pace", I said glaring back at him.

He didn't say anything more but he did get a little faster.

The muddy puddles we stepped in to get through the field were horrible. Every time I stepped I felt water and mud slide into my shoes, soaking my feet. I hope I don't get trench foot, I thought to myself.

As we walked, I noticed Francis glance at me from to time. After the fifth or sixth time, I finally had, had enough.

"Spit it out!" I yelled, annoyed with his obvious need to say something.

He hesitated a moment, but then went ahead with his question; curiosity no doubt getting the better of him.

"You really like Ellie don't you?" he asked.

I paused mid step before sighing. Pulling out a cigarette, I offered him one which he took greedily. I pulled out my lighter and tossed it to him as I thought about how to respond.

"Yeah", I finally said, "I really do."

Francis smirked again. I was really getting tired of his face being in that same constant position every time I looked at it.

"You should tell her dude; else she is going to be stolen away"

I glanced back at him.

"What, by you?" I asked smirking at his puffy and still slightly bleeding nose.

He glared at me and gingerly touched as his nose as he shook his head.

"Nah, I was doing it to mess with you", he said with a nasty grin to which I told him he was number one and continued on my way.

He frowned but quickly caught up with me as he continued.

"She is a feisty and high spirited girl, not to mention her looks aren't bad either", he commented.

I wanted to argue that she was gorgeous but kept my opinion to myself as he persisted with this annoying conversation that I really didn't want to have; especially not with the likes of him.

"But I mean dude, if you really like her, why do you hide it?"

I paused again but then continued walking as I glanced back at him. He was waiting for me to answer and I was surprised to see he actually looked interested in what I would say.

"Ellie has a tendency to put her own health and wellbeing behind that of mine, I was hoping us fighting would dissuade her from taking such risks for the likes of me."

Francis was quiet a moment and then he started laughing. He slapped my shoulder in a friendly manner as he held his sides, still chuckling. I just looked at him like he was insane, because he is, and continued walking, not slowing down for his fit of hilarity.

"Man, you are alright you know", he said with an actual real smile, "but dude, that's a woman for you. Just means you're going to have to be there for her all the time so she doesn't pull a stunt like that."

I took his words into consideration as we continued along the way we were walking. I hoped to God this overgrown hay field would end soon, because I had bad feeling in my gut and something always seemed to happen when I got one of those.

***Ellie***

Bill and I were almost out of the Sugar Cane Field when I heard the sound of guns opening up to the right of us. He and I both darted towards the noise as the scream of a witch filled the air.

"Zoey!" screamed Bill as he slid to a halt beside her. He gently lifted her into his arms as she grimaced.

"Sorry Bill, we accidentally disturbed a witch before we saw her."

I looked around frantically.

"Where is Rochelle?" I asked.

Zoey looked around and frowned.

"She was right here just a moment ago", she said and then her eyes grew wide, "The witch must be chasing her."

I sprinted out of the field before anyone could stop me as I looked around for any sign of Rochelle. I noticed Louis and Coach running towards me, concern written on their faces.

"What's wrong?" they asked.

"A witch is after Rochelle and we can't find her."

Coach gasped and began looking around desperately for any sign of her.

The sound of more shots being fired to the left of us further into the field drew our attention. We began running towards it, praying we made it in time.

***Nick***

The bad feeling in my gut was getting stronger when I heard the sound of shots being fired. I thought of Ellie and my anxiety grew, but then I remembered I had seen Ellie and Bill enter from the opposite side of where the shots were coming from, so I calmed a little, although still concerned about who it was that was shooting.

Francis and I took off towards the sound, cutting across the field. It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but it was the quickest way to whoever needed help. We arrived just as we noticed Zoey go down. Francis started towards her, but the witch turned and its attention locked on Rochelle who had been firing everything she had into it.

"Rochelle watch out!" I shouted.

She saw the witch running at her and took off through the field trying desperately to lose her. I took off running after them, shooting at the witch as I sprinted to catch up. I noticed Francis slightly behind me, also shooting.

A scream filled the air and we both took off running even harder until we found Rochelle curled under the Witch with her arms raised to try to keep the witch's long claws from raking into her body. Francis and I opened fire on her and the witch turned to us with a snarl, but died when Rochelle pulled a knife from her boot and stuck it between the witch's shoulder blades.

Breathing heavily, Rochelle stood up and caught her breath before nodding and waving at us, an out of breath 'Thank you' making its way from her lips.

We sighed in relief that she was alright and headed back through the field towards the others.

**"****Ellie***

We had just taken off towards the shooting when it stopped again. Pausing, we listened, waiting for anything to tell us where they were in that large maze of a field.

Dread filled me as the prospect of finding Rochelle dead, but only minutes later, the sugar cane parted and Nick, Francis, and Rochelle stumbled out, all breathing incredibly hard.

Upon seeing them, we all let out a breath we didn't know we had been holding. I smiled up at them and rushed to Rochelle, throwing my arms around her. Rochelle smiled and patted my back as I moved out of the way so Coach could get to her.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her head as he smiled down at her and rested his forehead against her own. I smiled at the scene and then turned to where Nick and Francis stood watching it. Both noticed me looking at them, so Francis stepped forward.

"You alright?" he asked.

I nodded but glanced at Nick. Francis glanced back at Nick as well and then smiling, stepped out of the way as Nick took a hesitant step towards me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, obviously a little uncomfortable.

I smiled. "Yeah I am", I said, "Are you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good", I said nodding back. We both just stood there for a moment, an awkward silence surrounding us as we looked away.

"There is the gas station", said Louis pointing at the small building only a few feet away.

We headed towards it and stepped inside, but I stopped just as the door was about to be shut and glanced up at the sky. It was about to storm.


	29. Reconciliation

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

Reconciliation

***Ellie***

I sat on the end of the counter in the gas station as I stared outside, watching the rain as it began to pour down. I knew it wasn't going to be long before the storm started, but I was hoping we would be on the boat by then.

Resting my head back against the wall, I looked around the room we were in. It was a larger space then most of the safe houses and I was kind of glad for it with the extra people we had with us.

I noticed Bill and Louis in the back corner. They were kneeling down beside Zoey whose stomach had been badly shredded. Honestly she was lucky Bill and I had arrived when we did or else she probably wouldn't have survived. I could tell from the way she was jerking that they were stitching her up and my own stitches felt sore at the thought.

As though noticing my grimace even when her head was turned, Rochelle got up from where she had been sitting with coach and headed in my direction.

"You alright Ellie?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah just thinking about Zoey"

She glanced back in the corner and I saw a grimace of her own as she shuddered involuntarily.

"She was pretty badly hurt. I am just glad Nick and Francis got to me before I was the same way."

I nodded, also very grateful the witch hadn't been able to touch Rochelle like it had Zoey. While I cared about Zoey, I had known Rochelle longer. The very thought of her being injured like Zoey made me shiver right along with her.

She patted my arm and I sent her a small smile as she headed back to coach who pulled a large blanket around her and him that they had found packed away in the old closet in the back supply room, along with luckily, eight gas cans.

Turning my attention back towards the rainy weather, I didn't even notice when Nick had come out of the back supply room with Francis, boxes of stuff in their arms.

It was only when I heard the large 'clank' sound that I turned to look back at them.

Nick and Francis looked sweaty and dirty from having climbed through the attic, but they also seemed pretty happy.

"Hey we found some pretty cool stuff", said Francis as he walked over to where Zoey was, pulling an old hand made red blanket from a bag. He draped it over her and I noticed him smile when she said something to him.

I glanced at Nick who was digging through the boxes pulling stuff out until all the boxes were empty. He tossed Coach what looked to be a small foam football and I noticed Coach smile when he caught it. Rochelle, curious, got up and went over to the table and began rifling through it. Her face lit up when she found a pad of paper and a couple pens. She took the stuff back over to her seat beside Coach and began to write. I was curious about what it was she was writing, but my attention was brought back to Nick when I noticed him grab a blue blanket and something else I couldn't see and head towards me.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself. With him, you just never knew how a conversation was going to go.

***Nick***

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself to talk to her. I knew Ellie probably was a little mad at me still and after I thought over everything, I knew she had a right to be.

Francis' words and everyone else's warnings made me rethink everything I had originally thought and I realized life was too short to not take a chance. So, I bucked up like a man and did what anybody else would do in my position; I took gifts.

"Hey", I said to her casually as she glanced over at me. She nodded my way but didn't say anything.

"Mind if I join you?"

She hesitated for a moment before she scooted over so I could sit beside her on the counter top. Jumping up, I used my arms to get me up and over the edge until I was directly beside her, my arm touching hers.

"Here I grabbed you a blanket, thought you might be cold", I said handing it to her.

She glanced at me and then spread it over herself and me, making sure both of us were covered.

I smiled when I realized this was her way of telling me my apology was accepted.

"Ellie", I started, my heart all of a sudden racing as my nerves screamed at me to run away, but I ignored my own reservations and continued through with what I had come to do. Only thing she could do now was reject me, although I had to admit, if she did, I don't think I would be able to live with myself. I knew I didn't deserve her to forgive me or to even try to restart with me, but I had to try; I was desperate not to lose her again.

"I-I found something you might like", I said as I handed her a large black box.

She stared at it for a moment as though not understanding why I was handing her something, but then she took it rather slowly as though I would pull it away real fast. She clicked open the two locks on it and she smiled when she saw what it held within.

***Ellie***

I gaped when I saw what was in the large black box. Honestly I don't know what I had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

I smiled as I pulled each one out, looking them over as though they were the most precious and most breakable things in the world, although they were quite the opposite of that.

Nick smiled at me when I looked up and I couldn't think of any other way to thank him, then to hug him. I threw my arms around his neck and he smiled against my skin when he returned the hug.

"Do you like them?" he asked.

I nodded and sat the tools back inside the box and pushed it to the end of the counter so I would remember to take it with me before we left.

"Thank you, it's been forever since I have had my hands on a nice set of tools like these."

He smiled again and I smiled back and that was when he did something I wasn't expecting and something that I honestly didn't know how to respond to.

He kissed me, square on the lips. Not an aggressive or long one like Francis had done to me, but this one was gentle and short, but showed in no uncertain terms, that he cared about me.

I froze though. I wasn't sure what to say or do. I had told him he wasn't allowed to do this again unless he meant it, so…did he? Did he even understand what it was I had said to him?

I didn't want to leave him forever, but I knew I would if he hurt me again like before. I couldn't handle someone who would throw me to the side because of some self-doubts; I just wouldn't be able to live like that.

As if sensing my thoughts, he pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes as he spoke.

"I love you Ellie", he said, which took my breath away because I had never heard Nick say he loved me before. "I know what I did was unforgivable, but believe me when I say, what I am doing here and now, I will not mess it up again. Please, won't you believe me?"

I stared at him, making sure my expression was unreadable. I wanted him to be nervous because he deserved that much anxiety at least, but underneath, I was dying. I loved him so much and he just told me he wouldn't leave me again. Did he even understand how much his words were like law to me? If he left me again, I honestly don't think I would be able to survive.

I know that sounds corny and desperate, maybe even a little insane, but when you love someone…and staring into Nick's beautiful green eyes, I knew I did love him, it sounded like choirs of angels singing gospel to me.

His eyes became downcast and I was surprised to see the deep sadness and pain that filled those lovely green eyes when I realized I had taken too long to respond. He started squirming to get down, but quickly I grabbed his face and kissed his lips. I didn't take it slow though, I kissed him with passion and lust, I made sure to make the kiss last and I made sure to show him how much I loved him with my entire heart.

When I finally pulled away, I saw both the happiness and the confusion written clearly on his face.

"You hurt me", I said to him in a whisper as I laid my forehead against his, "God I Love you, but _you hurt me_ Nick. Don't…_Please Don't_ do it again."

He leaned further into me, his hands bringing up my face to look him in the eyes as he smiled a small apologetic smile.

"I won't", he whispered, "Never again."

I didn't say anything; I couldn't as emotions captured my speech. Instead tears formed in my eyes and I felt embarrassed to once again be crying over him, but he just smiled a little wider and brushed away my tears.

"I love you Ellie", he said and kissed me again.

***Nick***

We started out shortly after I had made up with Ellie. I noticed Francis send me a smirk, but one that wasn't full of conceit. Instead, he seemed to be smirking like he knew that I was going to make up with her all along.

I just shook my head and looked over at Rochelle and Coach who were walking a little behind me and Ellie. Rochelle caught my eye and smiled, sending a wink showing she was proud of me. I just sent her a playful glare in return as I looked to Ellie who I had around the waist, her body leaning into me as we walked.

The rain was cold coming down and everyone was near freezing. Ellie had placed her tools I had given her into her backpack, leaving the black box they had come in behind. As she snuggled into me, I noticed a something white inside her backpack. Curious, I tried to peek inside without her noticing, but she noticed anyways and smiled as she reached back and pulled out a white stuffed bear. The fur was a little matted and kind of dingy in color, but it was pretty cute, I had to admit. She laughed when I nuzzled the bear into her neck and grabbed it out of my hands sticking it back into her backpack.

"What is its name?" I asked, still curious as to where it came from.

"Hmm", she thought for a moment, "I am going to name it…Stormy. For the stormy place I picked it up."

"You got it here?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Garage Sale, the one we passed earlier. It was sitting on the table and I picked it up then."

"Ah."

Now that I did think about it, I remembered seeing the bear there, but at the time I hadn't really paid it much attention.

"How is your stomach?" I asked when I saw her grimace when she slipped in the mud a little.

"Its fine", she said, "A little sore, but its healing pretty quick."

I nodded, glad she was okay and not in any real pain.

"Hey!" yelled Bill from up front, "Storm is getting worse. Make sure you guys stick together. Should we get split up, stay in a safe area until the storm dies down if you can't make it back to the boat."

No one answered him but we all understood that from now on, the real danger was about to begin. Storms weren't exactly something you wanted to be in when fighting zombies.


	30. The Unexpected Proposal

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

The unexpected Proposal

***Nick***

Sure enough, the storm became much, much worse as we started out across the sugar cane field again. Luckily, we all seemed to have a better idea of where to walk this time around, so sticking to the middle of the field, we followed the large sign on the factory building and made our way forward, following right behind each other.

Ellie beside me slipped a couple times and I noticed her shoes were coated in wet mud. Luckily her boots went pretty high up so her socks weren't thoroughly soaked as well, unlike mine.

I glanced down and nearly pitched a fit when I saw how you couldn't even see the white leather beneath all the mud and grime.

"You okay?" she asked me. She must have noticed the look on my face.

I nodded, "Yeah, just really hating this mud."

She nodded in agreement as we finally reached the cement leading to the elevator.

"Ready guys?" asked Bill.

We all clambered into the tight fitting space and waited as the elevator lifted us slowly up to the top floor. When the doors opened, we all hustled as fast as we could down the stairs, watching for any sign of a witch or a stray zombie that could be lurking around the corner.

When we hit the ground floor, we took off for the tanks where we found a ladder going up the side of one, creating a shortcut of sorts to get back to where we needed to be.

I helped Ellie up the final step and then we sprinted across them, the others right with us, as we jumped from the ledge of the tanks onto the platform below. Making our way carefully across a thin walkway, we jumped again from the broken walkway down to the next building we had passed some time back.

As soon as the last person jumped down, we all started down the stairs and out the door towards the safe house we could see several feet away. Of course, that was when the storm and the horde, decided to show up.

***Ellie***

It was almost simultaneous, the way the storm got really bad all of a sudden and a horde decided to attack at that exact moment. Beside me I could see Nick and the others swinging their weapons at the horde, trying to create a space to be able to shoot in. Stepping out a little from the group, I felt some zombies get in behind me and begin to push me out even further. I swung at them, trying to hit them off, but my feet slid out from under me and I went down into the cold water below. They swarmed above me, kicking, scratching, trying to bite, but I kept swinging as I tried to stand up with little success.

"Help me!" I screamed, knowing if I didn't get someone to pay attention to the fact I had gone under, I was going to die.

At that moment I felt strong hands grab me and jerk me up onto my feet as two shadows began to fire into the swarm surrounding me, giving me room to breathe.

"You alright Ellie girl?" asked Coach who was on my left side.

I nodded and glanced to the right where Nick was currently firing his shotgun into the crowd of zombies. He glanced at me to see if I was alright and when he noticed I was looking at him, he sent a small cheeky smile my way before grabbing my arm again and pulling me with him towards the safe house.

The others were yelling for us to come inside as we dashed through the door, our soaking wet clothes dripping on the ground as they slammed the door shut.

***Nick***

Ellie looked miserable as she stood there in the living room, shivering from head to toe completely drenched. Quickly grabbing a towel I noticed on the counter of the kitchen, I headed over to her. I held it out and she smiled as she took it and quickly began to ring out her hair. She looked around and noticed a bathroom in the hall and grabbing her backpack, took off inside.

A few moments later she came out again, her old pair of overalls were on and tied around her waist as I had always remembered them being; a _Green Lantern_ lime colored shirt covering her upper torso.

I had to smile, that was just like Ellie to wear something so young and childish like a superhero. I kept that smile on my face as I went over to her and wrapped her in my arms. She smiled as she reached up and leaned into me.

"Your still wet", she complained, but laughed when I looked down at my clothes and frowned.

"I picked something up for you at the plantation house when we passed through. I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to give it to you", she said, seemingly uncomfortable talking about our fight, "But yeah, wait here."

She took off into the bathroom where she must have left her backpack and came out with what I noticed to be some men's clothes. It wasn't anything fantastic, but they were warm and dry, so I smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek, trying to show my gratitude.

"Thank you", I said and went into the bathroom to change.

***Ellie***

When Nick came out, he definitely looked different not being in his usual white suit. I hadn't ever seen him wear anything but that white suit the entire time we had been traveling together. However in a pair of black sweats and a white t-shirt, he looked almost normal.

I smiled as he walked towards me, obviously a little self-conscious about how he looked. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled into his lips as I gave him a kiss.

"You look amazing", I whispered.

He smiled and shrugged.

"Hey, aren't I always?" he asked and I laughed.

He smiled; glad to see me laughing as he gently pulled me to the couch in the living room.

This safe house was an actual house with three bedrooms, two baths, a living room and a kitchen. Coach and Rochelle had taken the first bedroom where I had no doubt they were both probably already asleep. They loved to sleep, those two.

The second bedroom held Francis, Louis, and Bill. The third held Zoey. She has asked if we wanted the bedroom, but both of us had just told her we would sleep down here in the living room and stay on guard tonight. She didn't argue and had gone to the bedroom almost immediately, looking pretty pale from her injures still.

Nick and I were more than happy to have the living room to ourselves as he pulled me over to him where I snuggled down, the blue blanket covering us.

He kissed my head and then rested his chin on it as we listened to the rain outside. It was nice for once to just be able to hear something other than the usual sounds that zombies made outside the door in the silence of the night.

"Ellie", he whispered to me.

I nodded and looked up at him, trying to see his face from my difficult positon against his chest.

His eyes met mine and he pulled me back so he could face me completely.

"Ellie", he said again and this time I could tell he was completely serious. I listened, half scared of what we was going to say and half curious. I was so afraid he would break my heart again, but instead he reached into his shirt and pulled out the gold chain he kept around his neck. Slipping it off, he un-hooked the clasp and let the small ruby ring he had told me about before slip off the chain into his hand.

He looked me in the eye and then grabbing my hand, he slipped it onto my ring finger.

"This is my promise", he said as he looked me in the eye, "A promise that when we get out of here, you and I will remain together, forever."

I honestly didn't know what to say.

I probably looked pretty stupid just staring at the ring with my mouth hanging wide open and it was only after he realized he was waiting on me to answer that I even understood that he was proposing to me.

"Uh, yeah", I said and he smiled, but just as he was about to kiss me, I put up my hand, halting him.

"Nick", I started and he frowned.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked. I wanted him to be completely one hundred percent certain this is what he wanted before he made a move this serious.

He thought for a moment and then leaned in, his face only inches away from mine as he answered.

"More than anything I have ever wanted in my entire life", he said and captured my mouth with his.

That answer was more than enough for me and I fell back onto the couch with him, my head on his chest as we both fell asleep with smiles on our faces.


	31. Sacrifice

**Chapter Thirty:**

Sacrifice

***Nick* **

We started out the following morning. I had changed back into my regular clothes, although I told Ellie to keep the sweats and t-shirt in her backpack as it might come in handy again another night. She had agreed and begun packing as the others had come down for breakfast.

I wondered if anyone would make a comment about the ring on her left hand, but nobody did. Everyone was a little wound up about facing the storm again this morning and I didn't blame them.

Glancing outside, I noticed the rain had let up a little but it looked like it could increase again at any time.

"We should go while it's calm", commented Bill, so we did.

We started out towards the boat, Rochelle and Coach walking with Bill at the front, showing him the way we had come to get back to the boat. Behind me, I noticed Francis and Zoey talking, he was supporting her as she walked, his arm around her waist as she cringed with almost every step making me hurt for her. Louis seemed to be trying to help her also, but he mostly was watching our back as we continued walking.

When we finally spotted the gas station, we sprinted towards it until it was like someone slammed on the brakes and Rochelle, Coach, and Ellie all stopped, looking rather sick. I looked at Ellie in confusion before she sighed and face palmed, her eyes moving to Coach and Rochelle who seemed to have the same 'I can't believe we forgot about it' look on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

They all, Ellie included, looked at me like I was an idiot when I all at once remembered that we had forgotten the flare gun.

"Oh"

"Yeah", muttered Rochelle in irritation.

"So how do we contact this guy of yours?" asked Francis as he helped Zoey limp to the table inside the gas station.

"We could turn on the sign", Ellie said pointing at the light up sign on the top of the building. They all looked at it and then nodded.

"Yeah that might work", agreed Bill.

"I'll do it", I said running up the ladder onto the roof. "Ready?"

The others checked their weapons and gear before I heard the final, "Go ahead!"

I hit the switch and the lights came on.

Going down the ladder, I reached the ground just as I felt a slimy rope of some sort wrap around me. Oh great, I thought to myself as I realized what it was dragging me back.

"Smoker! Help!" I yelled.

A shot pierced the air and I looked up to see Francis standing there leering down at me, a hand stretched out to help me up. I glanced at it and growled as he pulled me up as I took his hand.

"Thanks", I muttered, hating to thank this guy.

He laughed thinking it all very funny as he walked away, "No problem"

"I see the boat!" yelled Rochelle.

I walked towards them on the dock and sure enough I spotted Virgil making his way towards us. Bill who was beside me seemed a little edgy as he looked around the area, his eyes narrowed.

"This seems too easy", he said.

"I am okay with easy", argued Louis who started laughing with relief at seeing Virgil's boat in the distant fog.

Bill didn't laugh though and it made the rest of us nervous as we looked around.

Right when I was beginning to think we were all over thinking this, it happened. A horde screamed and we were surrounded. The ground began to rumble as a tank made its way toward us. We all stared up at it, hardly even concerned about the commies, as we tried to get away from the big pink mountain of flesh and muscle.

The Tank went on top of the station and it chucked a large piece of concrete at us. I noticed though that the concrete hit the generator and knocked the power out of the sign. In a storm like this, I knew Virgil wouldn't be able to see us without that light guiding him here, like a ship in the open sea heading for a light house.

I hesitated though, I knew if anyone went back up on that roof it would more than likely be a one way trip. Seems I wasn't the only one thinking it though, because I noticed Bill glance at me and then take off back inside the station.

"Bill!" screamed Zoey, Francis, and Louis when they saw what he was about to do.

Bill didn't turn back though and instead he ran as fast as he could through the building. He skimmed up the ladder and he stood face to face with the tank. Both seemed to pause for a moment as if in surprise at what the other was about to do, but then the tank roared and Bill hit the generator switch just as the tank hit him. The power came back on, but Bill was nowhere in sight.

"Bill!" Ellie started forward, but I held her back, tears running down her face as I pulled her to the dock.

"It's too late Ellie", I said, holding her against me, "he's gone."

As the boat appeared at the dock I helped Ellie on board, Coach and Rochelle right behind us. The last aboard were Bill's squad mates who all were staring at the station, looking for a sign of Bill, anything that told them he might be alive.

However when the roar of the tank was heard again, we all knew it was too late. Francis had to physically lift Zoey onto the ship as she sobbed, dropping to the ground like a rock. Louis followed behind, practically a zombie himself as he moved as if in a dream.

Virgil frowned when he realized the situation, but he knew we couldn't stay any longer. He started up the boat and proceeded down river.

***Ellie***

It had been forever since I had lost someone who meant something to me. The familiar pain came back with a vengeance to the point it was almost hard to breath.

I watched as Francis, Zoey, and Louis slumped on the boat, huddling together trying to get through the pain of having lost their leader, their protector, and their friend.

Zoey's cries reached out to me and I buried my head in Nick's jacket, my own cries being muffled in his shirt.

I felt his soothing hands going through my hair trying to comfort me, but I saw he was just as distraught about the loss as the rest of us.

I don't recall what happened much after that, we all mostly just sat around, mourning the loss of Bill. Virgil did what he could for all of us, especially Bill's team who looked like death warmed over. He brought them blankets and warm cups of soup, but they all were too sad to eat.

Francis glanced at me and sent me a small, sad smile. I tried to return it, but I knew it didn't work as he frowned and held Zoey closer against his chest.

I cuddled into Nick, needing the comfort only he could give and tried to sleep, just wanting to be past this horrible moment in time.

***Nick***

I had never seen someone I know die before, at least not someone I have ever cared about. I didn't know Bill well, but what I did know about him told me he was a real good guy, someone I would have been glad to have with us as we traveled.

I felt Ellie snuggle deeper into my arms. She was having a really hard time with his loss. I realized she had probably talked to him more than anyone else in our own group, so it had to be hard for her.

I kissed her head and closed my eyes. The cries of the others dug into me. I could have gone in his place, I realized. The guilt started to eat away at me, but a hand on my forearm snapped me out of it. I looked down into the face of Ellie and realized no, I couldn't have taken his place. I had someone who needed me.

I smiled down at her, she tried to smile back.

"Sleep Ellie", I whispered and she nodded, cuddling down into me.

I held her close; a blanket wrapped around us as I closed my eyes once again and tried to sleep.


	32. The Sad Goodbye

**Chapter Thirty-One:**

The Sad Goodbye

***Ellie***

As we all gathered at the back of the craft, we had Virgil stop the boat so we could say a few last words in memory of Bill.

Zoey, Francis, and Louis stood around one candle that they had set on a paper plate, staring at it as though it carried the very soul of their friend.

"Bill", wept Zoey as she leaned against Francis, "Thank you for everything!"

"Yeah man", said Louis nodding, "thank you, for always being there for us. We couldn't have done it without you."

Everyone looked at Francis expectantly and I was surprised to see how angry he looked. He glanced up though and noticed all of us watching him. Sighing with some obvious frustration, he spoke.

"I will see you soon", he said and then stepped forward and grabbed the plate, handing it to Zoey.

Zoey took it gently and placed it on the calm river, watching it float down stream until it was completely out of sight.

Later that day when everyone had, had time to calm down a bit after the funeral, Francis and Louis walked up to us where we sat at the round table playing cards.

"Yeah?" asked Nick as he glanced from one man to the other.

Louis hesitated but Francis did not.

"We are leaving when we get to the next docking area. We aren't going to find CEDA with you. We have had a run in before with them and it didn't go so well, and I think the other two agree that we are tired of the military."

Louis nodded, but he didn't meet our eyes.

I stretched out my hand and gently squeezed his and he glanced up at me and let a smile cross his face as he squeezed mine back and then turned around and left with Francis.

"So it will be just us four again", stated Rochelle with a sigh, "I was hoping they were going to stay with us."

"Me to", I whispered.

Nick pulled me closer to him as he hugged me, his eyes following Francis.

"I will be right back", Nick said and started up the ladder to the upper deck where Francis had just disappeared to.

***Nick***

Francis was leaning against the railing, so I slowly went over beside him, pulling a cigarette from my pocket and lighting it up.

He glanced at me but didn't say anything, so I decided not to say anything either. I just stood there next to him, smoking and watching the waves.

Finally after I had probably been standing there almost five minutes, Francis growled and turned to me.

"What is it?" he asked with obvious irritation.

I just smiled and kept smoking my cigarette as I looked back over the water. He watched me for a few minutes and then sighed.

"Alright, alright I get it", Francis finally said.

I glanced over at him and saw the extreme sadness and bitterness on his face, which he had been trying to keep hidden since Bill died.

"Bill was…" Francis stopped as his voice filled with emotion that he fought to hide, "He was my best friend. That man…from the day I met him, he had always been so unstoppable, almost immortal in my eyes. I never thought that he would…that he would give his life like that."

I nodded, but kept quiet so that he could speak his mind.

"Zoey, she always saw Bill as a father figure and I guess she was right. He treated us like his own children, always watching out for us while also making sure we survived by acting like soldiers. The man was both a war machine and a great man all in one and I can't begin to say…I can't even begin to express that in words."

Tears slipped down his face and I looked straight ahead, not wanting to embarrass him as he cried.

"I want to go back to find Bill", he finally said.

"You think he could still be alive?" I asked.

Francis didn't say anything, I knew he didn't know, but he was hopeful.

"Francis", I finally said and he looked at me. "If you go back…there might not be a return trip."

Francis leaned against the railing again, deep in thought.

"When Bill gave up his life, he did it expecting you, Zoey, and Louis to live on for him. I'm not saying you have to come with us, but don't throw away your lives to go back to the place that he had given you his ultimate sacrifice and make it for not."

"What would you know", muttered Francis.

I shook my head.

"I wouldn't know", I said as I threw my cigarette into the water, "but I know if I did the same as Bill did for Ellie and Rochelle and Coach…I wouldn't want them going back for me. I would have done it because I wanted to protect them and give them a fighting chance for the future."

Francis didn't respond as he turned and walked away, disappearing into the lower cabin.

I heaved a sigh as I leaned back against the railing, my hair ruffled by the wind.

"I couldn't have said it better myself", said Virgil who came up beside me.

I smiled, "Thanks, but I don't know if I said it well enough."

"You did what you could son, it is up to that boy and his friends what they will ultimately do, but at least you gave him something to think about."

I nodded as I glanced up at him, noticing he had something hidden behind his back.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You made up with Ellie right?" he asked.

I nodded, slightly confused.

"Then I want you and her to have these. I know they aren't new and I know it may not be what you were imagining, but…I have no further use for them and I can read you two pretty well, especially now that she is wearing a ruby ring that wasn't there before."

I smiled as he handed me a silk cloth. I un-wrapped it and looked up at him in surprise.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I…I didn't completely tell you young people the truth. When my wife attacked me at our home…I killed her. I didn't have much of a choice and it has haunted me to this day. Those are all I have left of her. I don't want them dying with an old man like me though; they need to go to someone young with a full life ahead of them."

I looked down at the solid gold band, still in almost perfect shape. Beside it was a similar band with a simple large diamond in the center and then ten smaller diamonds encircling it, giving someone an impression of a rose when looking at it. They were beautiful wedding bands.

"Thank you Virgil, I don't know what to say"

He just shook head.

"Take care of that gal of yours and that's word enough young man."

I nodded as I pocketed them, making sure to put them in my jacket pocket where they wouldn't fall out.

Virgil walked away and I watched him until he disappeared around the corner. I guess people can still shock me even now in all this chaos, I thought to myself as I looked up at the sky.

"Wherever you are Bill, if any of these guys come to be with you, look after them, okay?"

I didn't get a response, but I wasn't expecting one as I headed downstairs.

***Ellie***

"Waterfront dead ahead!" yelled Virgil from the upper deck.

Nick, Rochelle, Coach, and I stood on the hind deck, loading our guns and preparing our supplies. Louis, Francis, and Zoey watched us from where they stood to the side.

"So it's that time already?" asked Zoey, a frown on her face.

"Guess so", Rochelle said as she took a step forward, embracing Zoey in a tight hug, "Take care girl."

"You to Ro", said Zoey with a smile.

Ro punched Francis softly in the arm before sending him a smirk. Francis sent a small smile back. "You take care of yourself", he said.

Rochelle nodded and then gave a light hug to Louis as she stepped onto the dock where the boat had stopped.

Coach gave all of them a firm handshake and then he stepped up beside Rochelle.

Virgil came down the stairs as Nick and I said our goodbyes.

Nick shook hands with Louis and gave a light peck on the cheek to Zoey and then stopped when he got to Francis. Both men looked one another in the eye as they shook hands.

"Be careful", Nick finally said.

Francis smirked, "Like I am never careful?"

Nick smirked back, "Yeah right."

They both broke into a smile and then right as Nick started to turn away, Francis put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful also."

Nick nodded and stepped to the side where Virgil was located.

"Good luck son", the captain said with a fond smile.

Nick smiled back and patted his pocket, nodding. "I will old timer."

Virgil just laughed as Nick stepped onto the dock.

It was my turn as I stepped up and gave Zoey and Louis both hugs, wishing them luck on their journey. They thanked me and said the same back as I turned to Francis who stared at me with hesitation.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. I knew how much pain he was still in because of losing Bill and I hoped I expressed my concern.

When I looked up, his eyes were misty as he smiled down at me.

"I will miss you most Ellie", he said with a chuckle, "Even that right hook of yours."

I laughed and then he glanced at Nick with a chuckle. Leaning in, he whispered to me, "Don't hit me again."

I didn't even get time to process it as he kissed me fully on the lips, but this time with gentleness and a sadness that I could almost taste. When he stepped back, he didn't meet me in the eyes as he glanced at Nick who I saw was less than happy with that kiss. Francis just shook his head and looked down at me, smiling as he lightly pushed me towards the dock.

"She is all yours, lucky guy"

Nick didn't answer, he obviously wasn't happy with that little show of affection, but he seemed a little more okay with it when Francis said those words because he gave a short nod.

"Good luck girlie", said Virgil as he hugged me, "Keep watching the stars."

I nodded, "I will miss you so much Virgil, please take care of yourself."

He smiled and nodded, "Will do little lady."

I smiled back as I took Nicks hand as he helped me onto the dock.

We waved at the boat and its passengers until they vanished from sight.


	33. Parish

**Chapter Thirty-two:**

Parish

***Nick***

All around us were signs posted by CEDA about color coded wristbands and warning signs saying the infection had entered the area. I didn't know exactly what the colored wristbands were supposed to represent, but I pushed the question to the back of my mind for later contemplation. In the meantime we had bigger problems, such as jets overhead bombing us.

They zoomed through the sky dropping bombs all over the city, some pretty close to us as we moved through the area.

"Would you stop bombing us!" yelled Coach, although we all knew they couldn't hear him.

"At least we know the military is still around", said Rochelle with a smile.

"Always have to ruin the mood, huh Ro", I joked.

She just stuck out her tongue at me and I chuckled as we continued on through the street.

"Man there are so many Alley ways around here", commented Ellie, "Never in my life have I been through this many alley ways."  
>"Yeah, me either", I said, trying to find the way out of the large maze we had just gotten ourselves into.<p>

"There is the high rise", pointed Coach, "We just need to find a way to it."

"Hey look", I said pointing at a large cardboard sign.

"**Attention**", it said, "**You have entered a private testing facility. Without proper admission, you will be arrested on sight. If door to the facility is opened, an alarm will sound without tower authorization**."

"Great", muttered Rochelle, "We find a shortcut only to find out it's going to draw every zombie within miles to us."

"Could be worse", I said as I reloaded my weapon.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well it could have been a sign that said 'Warning, Tank infestation'."

Rochelle grimaced, "I don't want to even think about something like that."

I smiled, "then don't complain."

She frowned at me, but I ignored her as I turned to the others.

"Ready?"

They nodded and I pushed the door open. Sure enough the alarm sounded and we took off running as fast as we could, trying to find the source to turn it off.

"Run! Don't stop!" yelled Rochelle as she fired behind us, "Hurry to the alarm!"

"Nick watch out!" yelled Ellie.

I skidded to a stop just as I noticed a weird little creature coming towards us. He was small and deformed, hunched like someone who has been in the same scrunched up position for ages.

"What is it?" I yelled over the alarm.

"Don't know", Ellie answered back.

Rochelle and Coach kept firing at the commies as they glanced at it as it go closer.

"Whatever it is, it's one of them, so kill it!" yelled Coach.

Ellie and I didn't hesitate to open fire on it, but the thing was fast as it dodged and jumped into the air landing right on me.

"The thing is riding me, shoot it off!" I screamed.

I fought to control my body but the little thing was practically humping me as I struggled to stay up right.

"I got it!" yelled Ellie as she knocked the thing off of me with the end of her rifle.

"Thank you", I said as I took off running again, wanting to get to the alarm before any more of those creepy things came out of the wood work.

"There's the alarm!" I shouted as I spotted it in a crow's nest of sorts under the high way.

Running up the steps of the red ladder, I slammed the button down probably harder then I needed to as it shut off. Zombies were surrounding the bottom of the ladder where I was and I fired down on them, making sure they wouldn't reach me.

Ellie ran up about that time and helped me clear them out as she skidded to a halt beside the ladder.

"You alright?" she shouted up at me.

I nodded as I leaned against the rail, "perfect."

She laughed at my sarcasm as I started down the ladder.

***Ellie***

I could tell Nick wasn't happy when we came to a dead end.

"What the crap", he muttered as he looked around.

"Only one way", said Coach with a sigh.

We all looked at the sewer entrance with disgust.

"No flipping way", spat Nick.

"Nick, there isn't another way out of this area", said Rochelle with a sigh.

Nick glared at the hatch as though it could control fate and then sighed as he nodded, "Fine, but we are never speaking of this ever again."

Everyone agreed as Coach and I pulled it open.

"So who goes first?" asked Rochelle.

We all paused, none of us really wanting to go.

"I got it", I finally answered.

I started down the ladder into the sewer and landed with a splash as I had to jump off from the last step which was still a few feet above the ground.

"Next", I shouted, holding my nose from the dank smells.

Nick landed next, his hand covering his mouth and nose as he closed his eyes and just kept walking forward as Rochelle and Coach made their way down.

"This place is nasty", said Coach.

"It's the flipping sewer Coach, of course it is", commented Nick, his displeasure at having to be in here coming out through his words, "God I hate this place. Let's just get to the bridge and get out of this crapping city."

I rushed forward and grabbed his free hand that wasn't covering his face. He glanced at me, but didn't say anything as we started towards the ladder at the opposite end.

"Ladies first", he muttered soon as we reached it.

I laughed as I started up the thing, only to nearly scream when I pushed the porthole open. Losing my balance and my grasp, I started falling.

"Ellie!" I heard Nick scream as he caught me, my arm catching on the ladder on the way down.

"Ugh!" I screamed as pain, sharp as a knife, went through my arm.

"Ellie what happened!" asked Rochelle as she tried to calm me, no one moving up the ladder until I told them what happened.

"T-tank", I said, the pain seriously getting to me.

"Did it hit you?" Nick asked as he looked at me, fear in his eyes.

I shook my head, "I slipped on the steps and lost my grip when the tank startled me. I think I broke my arm when I fell."

Everyone grimaced as I held my left arm against my chest.

"Least it isn't your shooting arm", Coach commented.

I had to agree with him there, it was best it wasn't my right arm which I did almost everything with.

"Can you make it?" Nick asked.

I nodded.

"So how do we get rid of the tank?" asked Rochelle.

Coach smiled.

"Anyone up for a Tank BBQ?"

We all looked at him as he held up the Molotov.

***Nick***

Coach's plan worked perfectly. The Tank had been waiting right at the entrance of the sewer, so as soon as he threw the Molotov up there, the tank roared as the fire caught its skin. He only lasted a few minutes before everything went silent.

This time, Coach went up first. Behind him was Rochelle and then Ellie and I followed. Ellie was in a lot of pain. We couldn't really see her arm, but I didn't doubt it was bad. Ellie always could handle pain rather well, so to see her flinch at the slightest gentlest touch made me grimace; it had to be a bad break.

"Come on Ellie girl", cheered Coach, "we are going to help you."

Ellie climbed up with her right hand and feet only. I climbed up after every step, holding onto her as she climbed so that if she slipped or anything, I could catch her before she got hurt again.

Finally after a very slow, cautious climb, she reached the opening of the porthole again.

"I got you baby girl", said Coach as he grabbed her shirt and helped balance her as Rochelle carefully sat her down.

I finished my climb quickly once Ellie was up and I frowned when I saw her arm, sympathy no doubt coming into my eyes at the sight.

Her entire left arm was twisted a different way than the rest of her body.

"Good news Ellie, it's not broken, just dislocated", said Rochelle, "We can put it back but I won't lie to you, this is going to hurt like hell."

She nodded, "just do it."

Rochelle only a hesitated a moment, and then she began.

"Now I am going to do this on the count of ten, okay?"

Ellie nodded.

"One…Two…Three…Four…"

Rochelle didn't count to ten when she did it, surprising all of us including Ellie.

Ellie Screamed as she held her arm that was now back in place.

"Sorry", Rochelle said with an apologetic smile, "it's best if you don't know when it's coming."

Ellie only nodded as tears streamed from her eyes.

I held her for a few moments as we sat there. Luckily the fire that had raged above had killed the stray zombies as well as the tank, so the area was clear for now.

***Ellie***

"The Safe room should be pretty close to here", commented Coach as he looked around.

"No, we still have to find the cemetery first", said Rochelle with the shake of her head.

"Oh", said Coach, disappointment expressed clearly on his face.

"But after we do get past the cemetery and to the safe house, we should only have the bridge to go before the shipping yard. Hopefully they left a ship or a boat or something there we could use to get to the next city."

"Yeah or maybe even a helicopter", joked Nick.

Rochelle just glared at him for having to be the Debby downer.

"Well maybe there will be", I said with a smile.

Rochelle smiled back but Nick just rolled his eyes.

I grabbed his hand though and that seemed to make him a little happier as we continued down the road.

"Hey look", said Coach, "That pool hall seems to be the next exit point."

"Pool hall?" asked Nick, his eyes widening as he hurried inside. He looked around like a kid in a candy factory as he noticed the billiard sticks and balls still laying there behind the counter. Racing over, he jumped the counter and grabbed one of them as well as a set of balls as he went over to one of the best looking pool tables that was still standing in relatively good shape.

"I use to love playing this", he said as he set up the white ball to break.

I watched him as he concentrated and then hit the ball with the end of the stick sending it into the cluster of colored balls. They scattered and I noticed several go into pockets.

"Brings back memories", he said with a smile.

I smiled with him, trying to picture Nick at a pool table surrounded by people betting on him as he played with several different types of people.

"You gambled with this?" Coach asked.

Nick nodded.

"Yeah I use to gamble with pool before cards when I was younger, but when I started into the card business I stopped playing a lot of pool except for fun now and again."

"I know you want to stay here Nick, but we need to keep moving", said Rochelle with a gentle pat on his shoulder.

He nodded as he set the billiard stick down and picked back up his magnum. Following us through the building, we made our way into the basement where a hole was blown in the side of the house.

Stepping out, we all were pretty excited to see the cemetery up ahead.

"Creepy", commented Nick as we entered the main gates that read 'Waterfront Cemetery'.

"You think we will see any ghosts?" asked Coach looking around timidly as though one might jump out of the woodwork.

"Doubtful since its midday", Rochelle stated flatly, obviously not impressed with their fears.

I just laughed as we walked through the field. However by the time we got about half way through my smile had faded and I looked at each grave with a feeling of envy.

"What is wrong Ellie?" Nick asked.

I just shook my head as thoughts of my mama and Keith filled my head. They wouldn't get a proper burial. They had nothing to say that they were once loved and dearly cared for.

Tears slipped down my cheeks and I felt Nick wrap his arm around my shoulders.

I glanced up at him but he didn't look at me. I knew he was letting me have my moment to mourn without any interruption and I couldn't have been more thankful. I needed a moment to remember them, my family who I lost…wow, almost three months ago. It felt like we had been traveling longer than that but it was only three months.

Three months ago I had been with Keith in the garage.

Three months ago I had been eating breakfast with my mama.

Three months ago I had been happy and now…now where was I?

I looked around the graveyard.

I was here among the dead, whether the buried dead or the walking dead, all we ever were was Fighting Dead.


	34. There really is a helicopter?

**Chapter Thirty-Three:**

There really is a Helicopter?

***Nick***

I had to admit, the irony was laughable. Upon getting to the bridge past the cemetery safe room and up the high rise, laying there on the dead body of a police officer was a walkie-talkie and an entire conversation between two military helicopters was taking place for us to listen to.

"Hello there? Can anyone here us?" Rochelle asked as she picked the walkie-talkie up off the ground.

"Hello? Hello!" said the guy on the other side, his shock evident.

"Howdy", Ellie yelled into it.

"Are you on the bridge?" they asked.

"Yes sir", answered Chief from over Ro's shoulder.

"Are you immune?" they asked.

"I don't know?" asked Rochelle, confused.

"No, are you immune?"

"Well, we have fought zombies and haven't turned yet so if that's what you're asking…" stated Ellie.

"Good enough for me. You need to lower the bridge and get to the other side. Down the ramp on the right you should be able to see chopper 7 who was just about to take off. They will wait for you there."

"Thanks sir", said Rochelle in relief.

"Good luck out there; chopper 5 out", he said and the walkie-talkie went off.

"Alright well you heard what the man said", stated coach as he loaded his gun with ammo, "We have to get across this bridge."

"Yippee" I said sarcastically, I know this won't be as easy as it sounds.

***Ellie***

Soon as the ramp fell, Rochelle took out a pipe bomb and threw it. The zombies that had been waiting on the bridge for us, as it lowered, took off after it and we watched as they exploded into a huge cloud of red.

As soon as the way was clear, we took off and didn't look back. We knew that we needed to hurry. The helicopter wasn't going to wait all day for us to cross the channel.

"Keep up Ellie!" yelled Nick.

I nodded and put more speed into my run as we picked off zombies along the way. Rochelle and Coach were a little behind us; coach's body mass making him a little slower than the rest of us.

"Come on Coach!" I yelled, "Come on Ro!"

They smiled as they ran faster and harder trying to keep up a good manageable speed while running for a long period of time.

I noticed as we got closer to the middle of the bridge, a rumbling in the ground. I glanced at Nick and saw that he had also felt it. He had stopped running and instead was doing a fast walk while looking around, his gun at the ready.

I also lifted mine up; making sure it was fully loaded. Behind me I noticed Coach and Ro doing the same with their own weapons.

"Tank", muttered Nick and I nodded.

At that moment a car flew over the semis ahead of us and landed only a few feet from our current position. We all swallowed as we watched it coming towards us.

"Fire!" yelled Nick.

We did, with everything we had we began to fire on the thing. It seemed like it wasn't even slowing down from our weapons, but we kept at it.

A coughing sound drew my attention away from the tank and I noticed on one of the semis currently to the right of the tank, a smoker had stepped up.

"Nick there's a…"

I didn't even get the chance to finish my comment when a tongue grabbed me around the throat and chest and started pulling.

"Ellie!" Screamed Rochelle when she saw I was in trouble.

I would have to argue that I was more than just 'in trouble'. I was currently being pulled by a gross, slimy tongue by a creepy smoking zombie towards an oncoming Tank while on a bridge suspending over nothing but miles and miles of very deep water.

Yeah, I was more than in trouble; I was in a very, very deep predicament with almost no escape in sight.

With an oncoming Tank, the others would be in danger if they came for me. They could try to shoot the smoker but then I would be right in the path of the oncoming Tank and possibly hit off the bridge into the open water below.

Nick saw my problem and screamed for me as he ran towards me with all the speed he could muster. I tried to wrestle with the tongue to scream at him to go back, but he kept coming.

"N-nick", I tried to say, but my voice was cut off from making any sound as I tried desperately to tell him to turn back.

He fired at the smoker and next thing I knew I was landing on the concrete, my vision dark from almost having suffocated as I felt his arms around me, pulling back to where we had come from. However I knew we didn't have time. I looked up just as a car came straight at us.

***Nick***

To say I was scared doesn't even begin to cover the emotions I was feeling. As I grabbed Ellie around the waist trying to get us back to Rochelle and Coach who were still firing on the Tank with everything they have, I knew we wouldn't make it in time.

Ellie beside me jerked and I glanced up just in time to see a car coming right for us. Ducking down and shielding her with my own body, which was all I could think to do at the time, I waited for the inevitable squishing to occur.

You need to understand my surprise when I wasn't squashed like a bug and instead am peering up into the face of a corpse hanging precariously out of a window of a car that happened to get stuck between the side of a semi and another car.

"Wow", I muttered.

Ellie looked up and I could tell she thought the same as we looked at one another and began to laugh. Behind us, Rochelle and Coach stopped firing and ran towards us, their eyes huge.

"We so thought you were goners", said Rochelle as she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing we were both alright.

"Me to", I admitted.

"What about the Tank?" asked Ellie.

"Dead", stated Coach, "If you two are ready, we need to keep moving."

"Yeah", Ellie muttered as she and I stood up and started back down the bridge, still feeling as though we saw our lives pass before our eyes.

***Ellie***

As we made it towards the end of the bridge, I looked out over the water and couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

I could remember when my mama and I used to go to the beach with my papa when I was little.

I could remember celebrating with Keith at summer parties and I could remember swimming for hours and hours, having fun with the people I loved.

As I glanced at Nick, I knew my life like it was before would never be that way again and in some ways I was really honestly upset about it, but when I looked at the man I have come to fall in love with over these past three months; as I look at him I see something worth all this chaos and it makes me smile.

Sure I miss my mama and Keith and I always will, but having Nick here at my side, it made it bearable.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked me as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.

I smiled wider as I responded, "Because I am with you."

This time a smile flickered onto his face and he nodded as we walked and leaned in closer to me.

"I feel the exact same way."

***Nick***

I could tell Ellie was thinking as we walked and it was probably because of her silence that my thoughts turned deeper as well. I thought about New York and the home I had left behind there.

I wondered what had happened to Robin and all of my past acquaintances. Were they even alive now?

I had the feeling that someday I would know the answer to that question, but for Ellie's sake, I hoped it wasn't any time soon. I knew a lot of my past wasn't something I wanted her being part of, but because of her, I would strive to accept things and face the future, whether I wanted to or not. If I have her by my side, I know I can get through anything.

"Nick", said Ellie.

"Yeah?"

"When we get rescued, will you stay with me?"

I stopped walking and looked at her. I grabbed her chin gently with my hand and had her look into my eyes.

"I will forever stay by your side, if you promise to forever stay by mine?"

She smiled the largest smile I had ever seen on her face as she kissed me quickly on the lips.

"My love is yours, now and forever Nick", she said and I smiled.

"Then come Ellie", I said giving her my elbow as though walking her out to a dance floor, "Rescue awaits."

She laughed as she took my arm and walked with me down the ramp behind Rochelle and Coach and towards the helicopter waiting for our arrival.


	35. Suspicions

**Chapter Thirty-Four:**

Suspicions

***Ellie***

When we got to the helicopter, the pilot and co-pilot greeted us with handshakes. We sat down on the benches in the back and strapped in as the chopper fired up its engines and took off.

A large explosion captured our attention as we all watched the bridge we had just crossed explode into an array of fire and smoke.

"Glad we weren't on there", commented Coach.

"Us to", said the co-pilot as he glanced back at us, "We were about to do that when your message over the radio came through. I'm glad you people didn't waste any time in telling us you were there."

"Yeah or else it may have been impossible to delay the detonation any longer than we had", agreed the pilot.

"Well thanks again for picking us up and taking us with you" said Rochelle, "We have been trying to find a way out of the infected areas for ages."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore, we will be taking you to our headquarters and from there they will run a few tests and then ship you out to one of the seven outposts."

"Seven?" asked Nick.

The pilot nodded, "Yeah, California, New York, New Orleans, Washington, Washington DC, Florida, and Texas are the only states that have safe zone outposts now. The others were, all overrun."

"So where is the headquarters at?" I asked.

The co-pilot glanced at me and answered.

"It's in Pennsylvania. The seven are for civilians, but there are some military outposts still standing in other states besides the seven."

"Ah I see", I said as I nodded and looked at the others. They were all listening intently, trying to understand the situation.

"So these tests" started Nick, "What kind of tests are they?"

The pilot looked back at us and then at his co-pilot before he answered.

"Just different ones, mostly to diagnose if your infected or not. We also need to know if you have any other viruses that could potentially make an outpost sick. Nothing big, just some tests and things, as well as some background checks and a few questions we will need you to answer upon arriving."

"When do you think we will arrive?" asked Rochelle curiously.

"In about 13 hours, so if you guys want to get some sleep, be my guest."

We all nodded and spread out, trying to relax the best we could in a military helicopter.

I leaned back against Nick as he settled into a corner. My head lying against his chest and he held me to him as we whispered back and forth.

"Are you scared?" I asked him.

He shook his head.

"Not really, but I have a bad feeling about those tests."

I nodded, showing I agreed with his thoughts.

"You think it's more than what they are letting on, don't you?"

Nick sighed.

"Yeah Ellie I do, the military are a resilient and secretive organization. I have no doubt these pilots mean well, but the head of the military don't usually see things from a personal view point. All politicians think about are themselves and what is best for the 'economy' rather than the people in the economy."

"Not all of them", I whispered against his arm.

"I know, not all of them, but a large majority."

I was silent for a moment as I thought about what he said.

"Nick?"

"Yeah babe?" he asked.

"Do…do you think they will let us stay together?"

Nick was silent and I looked up and saw he was thinking my question through. When he didn't respond, I figured he had decided not to answer it.

"I don't know", he finally said.

I nodded, but didn't say anything. I couldn't stand the idea of being separated from Nick, Rochelle, and Coach.

"If we are", he whispers into my ear, "I will always find you."

I smiled as he kissed my head and I drifted off to sleep in the warmth and safety of his arms.

***Nick***

When the helicopter landed about ten hours later, the pilot shook us awake.

"We are here people", he said, "Welcome to Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Military Base."

As I helped Ellie up off the hard bench, the four of us walked off the ramp and in front of a small group of soldiers with a man in a suit at the head of them waiting for us.

"You're the four survivors from the bridge correct?" asked the man.

We nodded.

"My name is Paul Douglas; I am the Base Unit Commander. You may call me Commander Douglas. Now that you are here, we need to have individual interviews with each of you. We will take you one at a time over the next several days. For now you will be housed in one of our bunk rooms if you guys don't mind sleeping together."

"Not a problem", I answered for all of us.

The man nodded and motioned for us to follow him. He led us through the compound pointing out the mess hall and the medical area along the way. He then led us into a smaller building where we noticed several soldiers glancing our way from where they walked the hallways. Going down to the very end of the hall, he came to the last door on the right and opened it.

The room itself was pretty small, but it contained two bunk beds and a small round table with four chairs in the corner near the door as well a tiny private bathroom with a sink, toilet, and a small shower.

"I will be back in a few hours with some food and clothes for you guys to change into. For now, please rest", he said and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

We all looked around and then slowly made our way to the beds where we sat down, facing each other.

"So what do you think?" I asked Coach and Rochelle.

"It's…different and not in a good way", said Rochelle.

"Yeah, something seems wrong here", said Coach, "I don't know if I am the only one who noticed or not, but the way the soldiers stared at us, as though we might turn at any second. It was almost downright lethal walking through the compound."

"Yeah that's my thoughts as well", I agreed.

"The Commander didn't seem to bad", commented Ellie.

"He is trained to handle people though", said Rochelle.

"True", Ellie agreed.

"Well I suppose for now we better get some rest", said Coach, "Who knows when we might get a chance to sleep like this when he comes back."

"Yeah I suppose", I said as I grabbed Ellie and tucked her into me as we both lay down on the bottom bunk of the first bed.

Rochelle climbed into the top bunk of the other bed as Coach lay down on the bottom. Both were asleep before they even seemed to close their eyes.

Feeling Ellie's breathing even out, I knew she had also fallen asleep. As I ran my fingers through her hair, I noticed the door crack open and a soldier step inside. When he noticed I was still awake he looked almost sheepish.

"Sorry, I was just going to put this on the table", he whispered as he set a clipboard down and quickly stepped out again, pulling the door shut.

Getting up slowly, trying not to wake Ellie, I slipped off the bed and picked it up as I read it over.

**Attention Visitors, **

**Under code 784724 of the CEDA Hand Book, We are required by law to interview and access each and every non-military personal that comes into contact with infected individuals. **

**We are also required by law to monitor and evaluate the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of those under our guardianship. **

**We hereby require your signature to authorize said examinations. We understand that this may be a frightening time for all you who have arrived at one of the CEDA authorized outposts, but it is mandatory that this be done. Therefore we require your signature as well as your DOB, your blood type, and your social security number so that we might access your records. **

**Upon finalization of Examinations, you may be required to complete other tests or you may be required to perform a function for the department until you are listed and moved to a more secure location.**

**Thank you for your understanding,**

**Commander Paul R. Douglas **

Paul R. Douglas

**CEDA appointed Unit Base Commander**

**Signature: **

**DOB:**

**Blood Type:**

**SS#:**

**Signature:**

**DOB:**

**Blood Type:**

**SS#:**

**Signature:**

**DOB:**

**Blood Type:**

**SS#:**

**Signature:**

**DOB:**

**Blood Type:**

**SS#:**

I read it over and looked at the others who were sleeping. They would have to see this as soon as they woke up and I had a feeling that as soon as we signed this, we would no longer have any control over the path we would be forced to walk over the next few weeks.

"Nick", whispered Ellie.

I glanced over at her and she must have seen my worry because she came over and set her hand on the papers, not caring to read what they said.

"It will be okay Nick, we can make it."

I hoped she was right.

***Ellie* **

The following morning, a loud knock woke all of us from a sound sleep. Standing there was Commander Douglas with two armed men at his side. In his hands was the paper we had all signed last night as well as a clipboard and several folders.

"We would like to speak to a Mr. Griswold", the commander said as he opened one of the files.

"Call me Coach please."

The commander jotted a note beside his name as he closed the folder.

"Then follow me coach."

Coach glanced back at Rochelle and squeezed her hand and then he looked at us and sent us a small smile before leaving the room.

"Am I the only one who feels this will be the last time we might see Coach?" Nick asked.

"No", I said shaking my head, a sadness filling my heart, "I think it might be also."

"Don't say that", said Rochelle as she sat down, fear seen clearly in her eyes, "Please don't say that."

I went over to her and hugged her to me as I glanced up at Nick, but he was clearly just as worried as the rest of us.

A knock made us all jump as a woman stepped in. She wore a white lab coat and she carried a clipboard and a folder like the commander had.

"Rochelle Lane?" she asked.

"That's me", said Rochelle standing up.

The woman smiled kindly at Rochelle and shook her hand.

"I am Doctor Margaret Barkley; if you would come with me Rochelle I have some questions for you and need to run some tests."

Rochelle nodded and looked back at us before she gave me a quick hug. Looking at Nick she smiled hesitantly at him before lightly punching his arm. She stepped out and the door closed.

I sat there, a numbness taking me over as I realized I might never see Rochelle or Coach again. Lord, what about Nick? Would he be taken from me as well?

Something seemed to snap inside me as I buried my head in my pillow and just cried.


	36. Examination

**Chapter Thirty-Five:**

Examination

***Nick***

The following morning another knock sounded on the door. While I was ready to be rid of this room that we had been in for the past three days without escape, I wasn't ready to leave Ellie. She was scared and I had to admit, so was I. I didn't know what they wanted, but I knew something was up with these military doctors. The way they looked at us, like prisoners about to be executed.

"Mr. Dean?" said the commander as he stepped into the room.

I looked at Ellie and saw she was about to panic.

"Ellie", I said as I went over to her, ignoring the commander's impatient look. I kissed her head and placed my forehead against hers as I whispered to her the same words I had told her on the helicopter.

"No matter how long it might take, I will find you again, my Ellie"

She wept as I walked out and it took all my strength and the threat of two armed guards behind me, to not run back into the room to her.

As he led me through the hall and down some steep steps into what I figured was the basement of this facility, he pushed open a large gray door and stepped inside. He beckoned for me to sit and I quickly took my seat at the table. It reminded me a lot of an interrogation room, except with no mirror. The room was empty save a medal table with a chair on either side of it.

He slapped down the folders onto the table as he sat across from me. Raising his eyes, he looked me over before he seemed to settle on my face.

"Your name is Nicholas Anthony Dean?" he asked.

"Yeah", I said, wanting him to get to the point of this little show.

"You are 35 years old."

"Yup", I said, getting a little impatient and nervous.

"You were born in New York to Jack and Cynthia Dean. You have an older sister named Isabella and a younger kid brother named Seth. Is this correct?"

"You have my file, so obviously it is", I answered, looking him square in the eyes.

The commander smiled grimly as he sat back, crossing his arms.

"It also says you were arrested for gang activity in New York. You have a criminal record that includes theft, illegal dealings, and even attempted murder. You also have a lawsuit filed against you for a gambling debt you got into with Nero's Gambling Hall."

"All of which were dropped", I said, trying to maintain a passive poker face.

"How did you come to be in Savannah?" he asked.

"I had a job there"

"Gambling?"

"That is what I am after all", I stated with sarcasm dripping from my lips with disdain for this line of questioning.

He smiled.

"We found the bodies of several hundred guests at that riverboat casino. How is it you were not one of those unlucky victims?"

"I worked for Isaac Porter", I said and noticed he had tensed, "We were in a back room when the riverboat was attacked. We all had handguns on us as well, in case of an attempted theft of our personal belongings."

"Such as a case of money?" he asked as he pushed a picture of a briefcase with cash in it towards me. I noticed on the side of the briefcase the initials NAD.

"Yeah its mine. So what?" I asked.

"Nothing, just trying to make sure your story goes with the facts", he said with a calm smile.

The door opened revealing a man with a white coat and a syringe. He glanced at the commander and then me as he stepped over to where I sat.

"This is Doctor Weston; he will be taking a sample of your blood for testing purposes."

I watched as the doctor stuck the needle into my arm and withdrew blood, enough to fill five vials. Taking one of them, he poured my blood into a larger half empty vial that stored a clear liquid of sorts. When he mixed it, the color of the liquid turned a bluish tent.

Surprise crossed the face of the doctor and the commander and I looked at each of them with confusion.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Your immune", said the doctor, "This is a vial of saliva we procured from infected individuals. We have a color code that tells us whether a person is liable to be an infected, be a carrier, or is an immune that may or may not carry the virus. Blue means your immune and don't even carry a trace of the virus within your system."

"Is that rare?" I asked.

"Very", stated the commander, "Of the hundreds of people who have been tested in this room, most turn green, yellow, or red."

"What are those colors? I asked in interest.

"Well Green is immune", started the doctor, "but it means you carry the virus within your system. It means if you reproduce you have a 50/50 chance of passing the virus onto your kids."

"Blue means reproduction is clear?"

"Mostly, yes; I mean the female will have a part to play as well, but yeah you get the idea."

"So what about yellow and red?" I asked curiously.

"Well Red means infected. The person who is tested can turn if the virus expands throughout their body or if they come into contact with other infected individuals."

"And yellow?"

The doctor and the Commander glanced at one another before sighing.

"Yellow is rare as well", said the Commander, "You have no doubt seen special infected?"

I nodded as I thought about hunters, witches, boomers, smokers, tanks, and jockeys.

"Well Yellow means they are not necessarily infected, but they aren't exactly clear of the virus either. It carries in their blood stream and they have a possible chance of becoming immune if bitten, but they also have a chance of becoming a special infected like those you no doubt saw on your adventures."

"So yellow is like Russian roulette?" I asked.

"Pretty much", said the doctor, "To know for sure, the individual would have to be bitten. Since bites by the infected are rare, it's not too worrisome. Only if the individual is bitten do we consider these yellow bands dangerous."

"Speaking of bands", interrupted the Commander.

"Oh right", said the doctor as he pulled a black band from his bag. It looked like a watch of some sort, but it was a little bulkier.

"This will go on your wrist. It can be taken off whenever you sleep or shower, but it must always be on when in a public area for identification purposes."

He strapped it to my wrist and I was surprised when the rectangular screen began to glow a bright blue color.

"This will allow guards to see your color even at night and know you're an immune individual."

"Does it matter if I am immune?" I asked curiously.

"Yes it does", said the commander, "Red tells the guards to be on alert. If you have a red band, you are considered high risk and are to be considered dangerous."

My eyes widened when I heard this, worried about what color Ellie might get.

"What happens to them?"

"They are sent along with people like you to the safe zones; however they are under supervision and must check in with a local doctor there at the zone once every week."

"And the other colors?" I asked.

"Yellow needs to check in once every two weeks, Green once a month, and blues rarely ever. They are known for a fact to be immune so as long as you're not ill, you don't really need to worry about it too much."

I nodded, feeling a little more relieved about everything.

"We do need to run some more tests though", said the commander as he stood up, "Also we have to ask you a few more questions but I think for now you are done and you may return to your room."

"What about my friends?" I asked.

"Ah yes, the man and the two women."

I nodded.

"The one called Coach came out Green, as did the one called Rochelle. Both of them have been placed in a separate room."

"And Ellie?" I asked.

"She is getting tested as we speak. She will be returned to your room when her evaluation is completed."

I nodded as I stood up, "Alright thank you commander."

The man nodded and then hesitated before putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Things will get a little tough soon", he said in a kind voice, "but have faith that I will get all of you to a safe zone as fast as I can."

I didn't know what to say to that, but I thanked him again and headed off to my room, his warning ringing through my head.

***Ellie***

I stood up and walked out of the interrogation room, a bright yellow band shining from my wrist. The doctor had told me what it meant and I was honestly surprised. This meant that if I was to somehow be bitten, I wouldn't know whether or not I would turn.

They said if my body resisted the virus, I would be considered an immune and my color would be changed to blue. However if my body gave in, I would become a special infected like one of those we fought.

The very thought made me shutter as I walked back towards the room, hoping that Nick or somebody was there waiting for me. I didn't want to be alone right now.

***Nick***

When Ellie walked in, I didn't react when I noticed the yellow light on her wrist. I was worried yes, but not to the point of panic. Although I probably would have panicked had it been red.

She smiled nervously at me and sighed in relief when she noticed my blue band.

"Nick", she said as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I smiled as I pulled her into me, her hair tickling my nose.

"You alright El?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, just nervous"

I nodded as I looked down at her band.

"Did they explain this to you?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yeah they did."

"I am sure you are immune Ellie", I said, hoping to the heavens it was true.

She didn't say anything but I could tell she was a little freaked out.

"Did you hear anything about Coach and Ro?" she asked.

"Yeah, both are green."

She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down on the bed.

"The commander promised me he would get us out of here; we just have to be patient."

She nodded but didn't say anything as she leaned into me.

"Don't leave me Nick" she whimpered.

I smiled and kissed her eyes, trying to dry her tears.

"You're so emotional lately" I laughed.

She glared up at me with a pout.

We stood there in silence for a moment before she grabbed my arm all at once, her head down.

"What is it?" I asked.

She was about to speak when a knock sounded on the door. An officer stepped in as he placed two sets of scrubs on the table.

"The commander says to change into these and that he will talk to you in the morning, 8 sharp. He also said to tell you Mr. Dean, to enjoy tonight."

The guard stepped out and walked away, the door closing behind him.

I walked over to the table and picked up the clothes. I went into the bathroom and changed as I came out in blue scrubs.

I was shocked when I saw Ellie standing there, her clothes lying on the ground around her. She turned around to face me, a nervous smile on her face as she stepped towards me, completely naked.

"Ellie?" I asked a bit nervously.

She smiled as I looked her up and down. She placed her hands on both sides of my face and pulled me close as she kissed me. I could sense her longing and her fear and I stepped back, watching her for any sign of uncertainty.

"You sure you want this?" I asked.

"I don't know when I will see you again Nick", she said; fear coming through in her voice, "I want to make sure that your mine, before anything could possibly separate us."

I smiled as I pulled her to me, my hands rubbing her back in soothing circles.

"I'm already yours Ellie", I said, "but I will gladly mark you, to make sure everyone knows it."

She gasped as I bit her neck in a teasing manner. I ran my hands up and down her skin as she helped me pull my shirt off.

Falling onto the bed with her underneath me, I began making my way down her chest to her stomach.

"Ah nick", she whimpered as I teased her.

I smiled as she moaned my name in pleasure. I slipped off my pants and boxers and rubbed her inner thighs as she groaned.

"Here I come Ellie", I said as I looked down at her face where tears ran down her cheeks.

She nodded and as I entered her, she screamed out, but I kissed her mouth, muffling her sounds.

"Your all mine El", I whispered and she laughed as I nuzzled into her neck and closed my eyes.


	37. Assured Love FINAL

**Chapter Thirty-Six:**

Assured Love

***Ellie***

The following morning, to say I was sore was an understatement. I was horribly in pain and yet I had never felt better. Dressed in my yellow scrubs, I waited with Nick at my side for the commander and his soldiers to arrive.

We knew today was the day we would be separated and knew I might not see Nick again for a long time to come. I just hoped fate would play its hands charitably and allow us to not be separated for too long a time.

"Ellie", whispered Nick.

I looked up at him and he smiled as he grabbed my hand and placed a rose shaped diamond ring in my palm.

"I want to give this to you now in case they take away our belongings"

I glanced up at him in amazement.

"Nick how did you…"

"Virgil gave them to me and told me to use them as our wedding bands. When we get married Ellie, I will do this properly, but for now, know you are my fiancé and you have my assured love."

I smiled up at him as I placed the ring on my middle finger of my left hand next to my ruby engagement ring.

"I love you Nick"

"I love you to Ellie."

The door opened and the commander walked in. he glanced from Nick to me and then back to Nick.

"It's time Mr. Dean."

Nick nodded and with a final look back at me and a small smile, he walked out. I sat there on the bed listening as his footsteps descended into the darkness of the hallway somewhere that I couldn't follow.

***Nick***

I was surprised when they took me to a hospital room of sorts where I was asked to sit down on one of the beds. I did as they told and they began to hook me up to a bunch of machines. Across from me I was glad to see Coach lying there, but he looked to be asleep.

"Hey Coach" I yelled, but the man didn't move.

Worried, I watched his monitor and noticed it looked as though he were in a coma.

"What is wrong with him?" I asked the nurse helping me.

She smiled kindly at me and then shook her head.

"Nothing Mr. Dean, he is only sleeping, as you will be."

I didn't get the chance to ask any more questions as she injected something into my neck and I was fast asleep before I knew what hit me.

***Ellie***

I was led down a hall to a room like the one I had been interrogated in, but I was thrilled when I saw Rochelle in this one.

"Ro!" I shouted.

She smiled as she shot up out of her chair and embraced me.

"You alright Ellie girl?" she asked me.

I nodded with a smile, "Are you?"

She nodded.

"Yeah I had a good night with Coach last night", she said as sadness seemed to fill her face.

"Yeah, same with me and Nick", I said and blushed.

She laughed as she raised an eyebrow.

"You finally did it huh?" she asked.

I nodded as my face no doubt got redder.

She just smiled as she took my hand and led me over to a chair.

"You scared? I asked her.

She nodded and I nodded with her.

"What do you think they will do to us?" I asked.

Rochelle shrugged.

"Don't know."

The door opened moments later as the commander and the female doctor, Doctor Barkley walked in.

"Rochelle and Elissa", said the doctor as she sat down in the chair across from us, "I have run your blood and you both carry the virus within you. As you both know however, it may or may not come out through your reproductive system."

We nodded, a bit confused.

"This world needs more humans who are not infected. For this reason, should one or both of you get pregnant; the child will be monitored closely. Should he or she be banded red, it will be disposed of."

"What", we shouted horrified.

The commander I noticed seemed as angry about this as we did.

"It is CEDA protocols", the doctor said, all business as she continued.

"I was informed that your partners are here with you."

We nodded.

"You will be separated from them for an unknown amount of time I am afraid. They are currently being tested, trying to help our scientist find a cure to this infection."

"What about us?" asked Ro.

"You will also be tested", the doctor said as she stood up and led us out of the room to a like hospital facility. Pointing at the two beds, we both climbed into one as the doctor began to hook us up to machines.

"What I am giving you is a sedative that will put you in a dreamlike state for a certain amount of time. You will not know how long you are asleep, but what feels to you to be a very short amount of time will no doubt be a little longer here in the real world. This will allow us to read your brain waves and hopefully better understand your mental and emotional health rather than just the physical."

"Doctor, what will happen when we awake?" I asked curiously, my breathing starting to increase as anxiety started to settle in.

"Calm down Ms. Hayden", said the commander as he walked over to me, "Everything will be alright. You have my word."

I nodded as I looked at Rochelle who looked back at me.

I sent her a small smile which she nervously returned. I watched as the doctor injected something into Ro's neck and then almost like Rochelle had fallen asleep of her own free will, she closed her eyes and slipped into a coma.

As the doctor turned to me, memories of Keith, my mama, Dave and Becky, Emily, Rochelle and Coach, Francis, Bill, Zoey, and Louis as well as other people I had met throughout my life filled my head.

However the memory of Nick loomed the largest and I grasped on to it as I thought of his smiling face and his bravery throughout our time fighting zombies.

I thought of our time at the hotel, at the mall, and on our way to whispering oaks where we had encountered the concert of a life time. I thought of being on Virgil's boat and when I punched both Francis and Nick in the face. I thought of Bills funeral and the lonely thoughts I had upon entering Waterfront Cemetery and as these thoughts quickly drifted through my mind, the final thing I saw as the needle was injected into my neck was last night and the words he had whispered to me that I now held close to my heart.

_"__I love you Ellie and I will find you, no matter how long it takes."_

"Nick", I whispered and then darkness descended and I knew no more.


End file.
